The second round of matches in Group B of the 2021 European Championship begins with a fixture between Finland and Russia on the 16th of June.
This will be the second successive away fixture for Finland following their trip to Denmark as this game will be played at the Krestovsky Stadium, in Saint Petersburg.
Finland come into the match with 3 points to their name following a 1-0 victory over Denmark in their opening fixture.
It was a game which meant nothing in terms of the outcome for the Danish players following the collapse of Christian Eriksen on the pitch near the end of the first half.
It seems as though the midfielder is going to be OK, which is great news but the Danish players can be forgiven for struggling throughout the remainder of the match.
It was an historic moment for Finnish football as they claimed their first victory in a European Championship. It was a good, disciplined display by Finland and even when they conceded a penalty, the goalkeeper was up to the challenge.
That result means Finland know if they can take at least a point from this match it should be good enough to see them progress to the knockout stages.
However, it is worth remembering the win over Denmark was their first in 7 games and the circumstances of the match must also be considered.
Russia faced a difficult task in their opening fixture of the tournament as they faced Belgium in Saint Petersburg.
They did little to help themselves in the opening exchanges and a defensive error led to the opening goal for Belgium after only 10 minutes of the game.
The Red Devils extended their advantage 9 minutes before half time and Romelu Lukaku made sure of the victory with a third goal in the 88th minute.
It was a match Russia were expected to lose but the performance was not good enough and they will have to play better if they are going to take maximum points from this game.
Russia have won only one of their last 4 matches and that came at home in a friendly against Bulgaria prior to the tournament.
They are usually difficult to beat when playing on home soil but have a poor recent record in the European Championship, losing 4 and drawing 2 of their last 6 games in the competition.
Team news and Finland are likely to go with the same starting XI from the fixture against Denmark. That means they will start with two men up-front as Joel Pohjanpalo and Teemu Pukki lead the line.
Russia could make a few changes to their team from the defeat against Belgium. Vyacheslav Karavaev, Igor Diveev, and Maksim Mukhin could come into the starting XI.
Huuhkajat harjoitteli tänään jälleen tutussa Terijoen treenikeskuksessa, jossa aloitettiin valmistautuminen keskiviikon Venäjä-otteluun.📸: Juha Tamminen#Huuhkajat #MeOlemmeSuomi #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/EEI83gfzNg— Huuhkajat (@Huuhkajat) June 14, 2021
Huuhkajat harjoitteli tänään jälleen tutussa Terijoen treenikeskuksessa, jossa aloitettiin valmistautuminen keskiviikon Venäjä-otteluun.📸: Juha Tamminen#Huuhkajat #MeOlemmeSuomi #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/EEI83gfzNg
Given the facts, the upcoming clash has the makings of being a really tough encounter for both sides. However, Forebet predicts that Russia will record a narrow win, while it is possible to see goals at either end of the pitch.