On Thursday evening, Russia and Serbia go head-to-head at the VTB Arena in a friendly encounter.
Russia hoping to avoid rustinessDue to the ongoing situation with Ukraine, Russia has not played an international game since November 2023. They have also been expelled from qualifying for next year’s European Championships.
Before the break in action, Russia were four games unbeaten, having recorded two wins and two draws. Last time out, Valeriy Karpin’s team recorded an 8-0 home win over Cuba.
Seven of their last ten internationals have produced under 2.5 goals despite the high-scoring outing last time out.
Russia has a strong recent home record. They are unbeaten in seven games and have recorded six straight victories in front of their own supporters.
They have built their recent strong home form on a solid defensive record, keeping seven straight clean sheets in the solid home run.
At the other end of the pitch, Russia have also scored at least two goals in four of their previous six home outings.
Serbia is looking for consistencyThe visitors head into this game on the back of an inconsistent recent run of form, having won just one of their last four matches in all competitions.Serbia's 2-2 home draw against Bulgaria last time out was another high-scoring outing, as five of their last six games have produced over 2.5 goals.
The visitors' recent away record is inconsistent. They have won just one of their last four games, including back-to-back away wins against Hungary and Belgium.
However, Serbia have been relatively prolific on their travels, having scored at least two goals in seven of their last 11 away games.
What am I backing?Russia has a strong recent home record, and they are hard to beat on home soil. With that in mind, I am backing a narrow victory.
