Soccer
Russia made up as the runner-up of Group A with 6 points after 2 wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and a loss to Uruguay. Croatia was the winner of Group D with 9 points after victory over Argentina, Nigeria, and Iceland. The winner of this match will play with the winner from Sweden vs England in the semi-finals.
Russia will go on head-on-head with Croatia at Fisht Stadium in Sochi on Saturday, July 7, 2018. The kick-off time is scheduled for 7 pm BST.
The match will be televised live on BBC One and BBC 5 will serve live commentary for English fans while countries with FIFA membership can enjoy the live-action on national channels in television.
The live-stream can be enjoyed online via BBC iPlayer and also with apple store and play store apps. Get ready to witness blink resisting match.
Russia and Croatia have met 3 times before with no victories for Russia and 2 matches being a draw. The 2 nations met twice in the Euro 2008 qualification round eventually resulting 2 games in a draw, while Croatia netted a 3-1 win in 2015 friendly.
Russian left winger Yuri Zhirkov is expected to be out from the match against Croatia this Saturday with a damaged tendon, while Igor Smolnikov is available again after being suspended for the match against Spain.
Alan Dzagoev is expected to return from the injury joining top scorer Denis Cheryshev in the starting line-up. Also, Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov hinted the entry of Aleksandr Samedov in the set.
As for Croatia, no suspended players or current fitness issues are reported.
The possible lineups are:
Russia XI: 4-2-3-1 Formation
Goal Keeper: Igor Akinfeev
Defenders: Ilya Kutepov, Igor Smolnikov, Sergei Ignashevich, Fyodor Kudryashov.
Defensive Midfielders: Yury Gazinsky, Roman Zobnin
Attacking Midfielders: Alexander Samedov, Denis Cheryshev, Aleksandr Golovin
Forwards: Artem Dzyuba
Croatia XI: 4-1-4-1 Formation
Goalkeeper: Danijel Subasic
Defenders: Sime Vrsaljko, Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Josip Pivaric
Defensive Midfielder: Marcelo Brozovic
Attacking Midfielders: Ante Rebic, Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic
Forward: Mario Mandzukic
As reported, the win prediction favors Croatia with a 51% vote, while for the match draw and Russia's win, the probability is 29% and 20% respectively.
Many miracles in the last moment of the games are witnessed in World Cup 2018, so the wait for the clash has become more exciting.
As per Betfair, the possibility of odds are:
The odds are set at 4.0 for Russia's win, which means the investment of $100 will earn $400 bet money in return, while the match draw and Croatia's win are set at 3.1 and 2.2 earning $310 and $220 respectively for the right prediction.
Note: Odds subject to change.
