It is early days in the European 2020 World Cup qualifying campaign but we have a meeting between the top two teams in Group H on the 27th of March.
Russia host Slovenia at the Fisht Stadium, Sochi, with both teams hoping to have a 100% record from their opening two fixtures in the group.
Russia started their World Cup qualifying process with a 3-1 win in Malta. It was a match Russia were expected to win without any difficulty and they found themselves 2-0 up after 35 minutes.
Лидируем после первого тура в группе H.#НашиПарни #СборнаяРоссии pic.twitter.com/UqBRkrxeoz— Сборная России (@TeamRussia) March 25, 2021
Лидируем после первого тура в группе H.#НашиПарни #СборнаяРоссии pic.twitter.com/UqBRkrxeoz
However, Malta struck back with a goal in the 56th minute and it was an uncomfortable second half for Russia but they sealed the points with a third goal in the 90th minute.
It was an important victory for Russia who had been struggling to win games recently. In fact, Russia had failed to win any of the previous 6 fixtures, including defeats against Sweden, Turkey, and Serbia the latter of which was a heavy 5-0 loss.
However, Russia tend to be difficult to beat when playing at home and they are undefeated in 10 of their last 12 games on home soil.
Russia tend to have little trouble when it comes to scoring goals in home matches but they have kept just a single clean sheet in their last 5 home games.
Slovenia recorded a tremendous 1-0 home victory over Croatia in their opening game of this group. Having taken the lead in the 15th minute, Slovenia managed to keep the Croatian attack at bay for the remainder of the match to take maximum points and cause a shock early in the group.
Slovenia had been in good form prior to the win over Croatia and they are now 9 matches without defeat.
There have been victories against San Marino, Moldova, Kosovo, and Croatia. Slovenia went through that Nations League campaign without losing a game away from home but the opposition of San Marino, Moldova, and Kosovo is not of the same quality as Russia.
In their previous qualifying campaign, which was for the 2020 European Championship, Slovenia picked up just a single victory away from home against Latvia.
There were defeats in North Macedonia, Poland, and Austria. However, each defeat was by just a single goal meaning Slovenia are not easy to beat on the road.
Looking ahead to the team news and Russia may choose to make a couple of changes to the starting XI, with Aleksei Miranchuk and Rifat Zhemaletdinov being among those who could come into the team.
Slovenia will be tempted to go with the same starting XI from the victory against Croatia. Domen Črnigoj may come into the team in place of Damjan Bohar to bolster the midfield.