Kick Off: 1600, 21/06/2017
Stadium: Spartak Stadium
TV: ITV
We picked up a nice 5/1 pay-out for tipping Russia to beat New Zealand 2-0 in our preview of the Confederations Cup curtain raiser and are now backing the hosts to hold Portugal to a draw.
The Euro 2016 champions had to settle for a point in their first Group A fixture against Mexico and that will put them under a bit of pressure here.
Looking at the Russia vs Portugal odds, taking 23/10 for a Moscow stalemate makes sense to us.
A Look At Russia’s Betting Odds
In all honesty, we were fortunate that Russia didn’t prevail by a more convincing scoreline as they created a number of other good chances against the Kiwis.
A Michael Boxall own goal and Fedor Smolov’s tap-in ultimately settled the tie, but Russia also hit the post, had an effort cleared off the line and forced Stefan Marinovic to make a world-class save.
“The tempo was high, it was a fast game and we achieved everything we had planned for,” said coach Stanislav Cherchesov. “I believe we will have the same line-up and we have a certain plan facing Portugal. Everybody is ready.”
If the hosts show the same ambition, 15/4 for a score draw is also worth putting in our Russia vs Portugal betting tips.
A Look At Portugal’s Betting Odds
Portugal had to rely on hitting Mexico on the break as their opponents enjoyed plenty of possession in Kazan, but Fernando Santos’ side did look very dangerous in that department.
Man of the match Cristiano Ronaldo produced a sublime assist to set up Ricardo Quaresma and Cedric seemed to have snatched victory in the 86th minute, until El Tri equalised for a second time in stoppage time.
“We struggled to keep the ball initially, but we were eventually able to hold our own and we could even have won it,” said Santos. “Ultimately, it’s a fair result, though, because Mexico played really well.”
Ronaldo will again be a handful for Russia, but we’re still siding with 18/5 for this to be a draw at half-time and full-time.
Additional stats
Last result:
RUSSIA 2-0 New Zealand – Michael Boxall (og), Fedor Smolov
PORTUGAL 2-2 Mexico – Ricardo Quaresma, Cedric
Head-to-head: Russia 1-0 Portugal, Portugal 1-0 Russia, Russia 1-0 Portugal, Russia 0-0 Portugal, Portugal 7-1 Russia, Portugal 2-0 Russia
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