Russia vs Cyprus

Russia will be looking to beat Cyprus at the Gazprom Arena and retain the top spot in World Cup Qualification Group H heading into the final matchday.

The Russians have racked up a four-game winning run in the ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign since a goalless draw with Croatia to move two points clear at the top of Group H. After winning six of their eight 2022 World Cup qualifiers (D1, L1), the ‘Sbornaya’ could book a ticket for next year’s final tournament with another victory here, results pending elsewhere. Russia could gain a massive qualification upper hand over second-placed Croatia ahead of their meeting on the final matchday if they maintain their outstanding overall H2H record against Cyprus here (W4, D1). Valeri Karpin’s men have been nothing short of exceptional at home in this World Cup qualifying cycle, winning three of their four matches on home soil (D1) despite failing to net more than twice on each occasion.

On the other hand, a return of five defeats from their eight Group H fixtures (W1, D2) has seen Cyprus wave goodbye to their hopes of qualifying for their first-ever World Cup finals. With nothing but pride to play for in Saint Petersburg, Cyprus will at least hope to get off the mark on foreign soil in the ongoing World Cup qualifying cycle after losing all three away matches without scoring. Nikos Kostenoglou’s men have developed a habit of going down without showing any signs of resilience, failing to get on the scoresheet in each of their last eight international defeats. That ties in well with Cyprus’ recent H2H record against Russia, as they’ve lost their last three competitive meetings without scoring while trailing at half-time on each occasion.