Russia took one step closer to the Euro 2020 playoffs on Thursday night with a commanding 4-0 win over Scotland in Moscow. Now, manager Stanislav Cherchesov’s team can inch further toward the playoff round with a victory over Cyprus.
The Cypriots are eight points behind Russia heading into the weekend. Manager Ran Ben Shimon led Cyprus to a victory in midweek in Kazakhstan, 2-1. Cyprus scored twice in the second half to overcome a one-goal deficit.
Belgium have already qualified to the next round of matches after defeating San Marino on Thursday night. Belgium cannot finish outside the top two, but Russia can still make up the four points that separate them and overtake the group leaders.
Cyprus did hold their own against Russia the last time the two nations met. Russia eked out a 1-0 win in Novgorod, 1-0. While the scoreline was close, Russia dominated the fixture with 65% possession and 25 shots. Cyprus ended the night with no shots on target.
Russia striker Artem Dzyuba goes into the weekend in fantastic form. Dzyuba leads Group I in goals scored with eight. He bagged two goals against Scotland in midweek including the game’s first strike in the 57th minute.
Cyprus have their own in-form goalscorer in Pieros Sotiriou. The Cypriot player has scored four goals in qualifying with one of those coming against Kazkhstan in the week.
Shimon’s team is a massive eight points behind Russia with nine points to play for in Euro 2020 Group I. Cyprus must win on Sunday and defeat both Scotland and Belgium to finish in the top two places in the group. It seems like a nearly impossible task.
The good news for Cyprus is Russia must play Belgium as well. The Russians could drop points to the group leaders once more giving Cyprus a chance at qualifying for the tournament proper.
However, the most important thing right now is for Cyprus to win against Russia and put pressure on the Russians for the rest of Euro qualifying. If Cyprus fail to win at home against Russia, they are out of the running for qualification to the playoffs.
There is a lot to play for in Cyprus this weekend. The hosts desperately need to win against Russia. Meanwhile, the visitors need to continue their excellent form. Russia won 1-0 last time out against Cyprus. Which side will prevail this time in Nicosia?
Forebet predicts a win for Russia with less than 2.5 goals in the match.