Match Previews

Were poor against Turkey last week. Aleksandr Kokorin, Giorgi Jikia and Viktor Vasin among those injured and not in the squad. Yuri Zhirkov and Dalera Kuzyaev lacking fitness. Must deal with the pressure of opening their home World Cup

Russia's build up for the first ever World Cup in their country has been less than impressive. A draw last week against a Turkey side not qualified for the tournament was the latest disappointment.

Russia's head coach Stanislav Cherchesov has come under a lot of pressure for how his handling of the squad and recent results. Russia are without a win in their last 7 matches. Their last victory came in October last year against Korea Republic. Having no qualification matches over the last two years has hurt a side who need time on the pitch together.

Russia come into the tournament as the lowest ranked side in the tournament and the pressure on the team has risen as the kick off nears.

A small handful of players failed to make the cut for the squad including Aleksandr Kokorin, Giorgi Jikia and Viktor Vasin who would usually expect to be in and around the starting team. The three of them were starters leading into the tournament before picking up serious injuries. The lack of depth in the team has been on show in recent friendly matches.

Veteran midfielder Yuri Zhirkov has been struggling with a knock and even though he is back in training, minutes in this match are unlikely. Dalera Kuzyaev has also had limited game time of late and will be fortunate to get game time.

Cherchesov may be forced into making further changes to his side after a below par performance in their most recent friendly. The defence has come under scrutiny with a return to a flat back four possible. Nevertheless an opening game against Saudi Arabia is at least a forgiving fixture.

These two sides have yet to meet each other in international matches, and there can hardly be a bigger occasion for their first encounter.