Kick-off: 1400, 16/06/2021
Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium
TV: BBC One
Russia were disappointing against Belgium in their Euro 2020 Group B opener but are given another chance to shine when entertaining Finland in Saint Petersburg.
The Eagle-owls will be looking to build on their victory over Denmark but obviously that result was achieved under a very dark cloud.
Under normal circumstances, we like 9/4 for the hosts to oblige by any one-goal margin for our first Finland vs Russia prediction.
A Look At Finland’s Betting Odds
Finland’s first fixture at a major finals ended in a 1-0 success versus Denmark but will be remembered for very different reasons.
Christian Eriksen’s collapse and on-field CPR treatment overshadowed the eventual outcome, with a 90-minute delay before play resumed.
In the end, Joel Pohjanpalo’s header will go down as the deciding effort while Denmark later saw a penalty from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg saved.
Manager Markku Kanerva sent his best wishes to Eriksen but also praised his side’s resolve, with the rank outsiders now hopeful of advancing from this pool.
He commented: “I said to them ‘try to focus as much as you can on the game’. I said I know it will be difficult to do that but they coped really well.
“And then finally, we get a good result from the game. Of course, I am happy for that. Unbelievable.”
Norwich forward Teemu Pukki added: “We are of course delighted for the result, even though the evening left much more to think about.”
The Eagle-owls have now scored in eight straight competitive matches and can make their presence felt again here.
Looking at the Finland vs Russia odds, we feel 5/4 for both teams to hit the back of the net is fair value.
A Look At Russia’s Betting Odds
Russia were on the back foot throughout their 3-0 loss to Belgium, being undone by a Romelu Lukaku double and Thomas Meunier’s tap-in.
Head coach Stanislav Cherchesov was unhappy with the way heads dropped after his side went behind on 10 minutes.
He said: “The first goal affected the game and the morale of our team, which I didn’t like. We had to keep going.
“We made changes in the second half and played in a more compact way but we couldn’t create as many moments as we would have liked.”
That was an assured performance from Belgium, though, so it may be too early to abandon Russia, who are usually pretty reliable in front of their own fans.
They reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup as hosts, only losing out on Croatia in a penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 draw.
Their last six games on home turf have produced three wins and a couple of draws, although only two clean sheets is worth noting.
Let’s finish off our Finland vs Russia betting tips by taking 15/2 for Cherchesov’s men to oblige 2-1.
Additional stats
Last result:
Denmark 0-1 FINLAND – Pohjanpalo
Belgium 3-0 RUSSIA
Head-to-head: Finland 0-3 Russia, Russia 3-0 Finland, Russia 3-1 Finland, Finland 0-6 Russia
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