Russia hosts Cyprus in round 9 of the World Cup qualification. The match will be played on Thursday, November 11th at Gazprom Arena (Saint Petersburg)
Valeri Karpin's team scored 19 points in the current qualification. The Russians chalked up six victories, one draw, and one defeat in eight rounds. The Russian national team is approaching the November matches as the leader of Group H. In five matches under the management of Karpin, who replaced Stanislav Cherchesov, Russia achieved four victories and one home draw against the Croats (0-0). In October, the Russians scored the maximum number of points in games against Slovakia (1-0) and Slovenia (1-2). Interestingly, the goal conceded in Slovenian Maribor turned out to be the 1st goal for the Russian national team after Karpin’s appointment.
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The national team of Cyprus is in the last 6th position in Group H with only five points scored. In eight rounds, the Islanders gained one victory and two draws and suffered five defeats. Cyprus has long lost the chance to compete for the first two places in the group. Kostenoglou's charges looked good at home, where they lost only to Russia (0-2) and Croatia (0-3). But in the away matches, the Cypriots have not yet scored even one point and suffered three defeats in a row. In the last match, held in Cyprus on October 11, the home team shared the points with another outsider in the group, Malta (2-2). The Cypriots took the lead twice and were close to victory, but the visitors pulled out a draw in the 98th minute.
The Russians will be the favorites of the upcoming game. Karpin's team needs three points to go to Croatia with an advantage in the standings. Cyprus shows poor results in the current qualification and looks especially weak on foreign pitches. The Cypriot attack, which scored only three goals in eight games, is unlikely to show itself in St. Petersburg. But you shouldn't expect high production from the home team either. Karpin's team has already taught that it plays for the result. In all five games under the management of the ex-coach of Rostov, the Russians scored no more than two goals. Cyprus will sit back on heels, which will prevent the opponent from showing itself in the attack, and there is a feeling that the home team will score only one or two goals.
Prediction for the match: Under 3.0 goals scored
