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Russia and Croatia return to action on Wednesday when they go head-to-head at the Luzhniki Stadium in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Both sides are tied on six points at the top of Group H and will be looking to get one over the other and maintain their solid form.
Russia suffered a disappointing group-stage exit from Euro 2020 after picking up three points from nine games.
They return to the World Cup qualifiers, where they have been in solid form. They have picked up six wins from their first three games, beating Slovenia and Malta.
Their only defeat came on 30 March when they fell to a 3-0 loss at the hands of Slovakia.
Russia will now look to get one over Croatia and leapfrog them into top spot in Group H.
Meanwhile, Croatia made it into the last 16 of the European Championship, where they lost on penalties to Spain after putting up a valiant fight.
Similarly, they have picked up six points from their three World Cup qualifiers, while scoring four goals and conceding one.
The Vatreni cruised to a 3-0 victory over Malta in their last group outing and will be looking to build on that performance.
Russia vs Croatia Head-To-Head
This will be the fifth meeting between the two sides. Croatia have been the slightly better side in the history of this fixture, claiming one win and three draws from their previous four encounters. Russia are yet to taste victory against the visitors.
Russia Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-L-W-L
Croatia Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-D-W-L
Russia vs Croatia Team News
Russia
The hosts have called up 29 players to the national team camp, including Monaco midfielder Aleksandr Golovin, Atalanta’s Aleksei Miranchuk and Valencia man Denis Cheryshev. Veteran forward Artem Dzyuba has been omitted from the squad.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Croatia
Zlatko Dalić has named a 25-man squad for their upcoming games. AC Milan man Ante Rebic is a surprise omission in the squad, while Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa could make his senior debut after being handed his first call up.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Russia vs Croatia Predicted XI
Russia Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Andrey Lunyov; Vyacheslav Karavaev, Georgiy Dzhikiya, Mário Fernandes, Vyacheslav Karavaev; Dmitri Barinov, Aleksandr Golovin; Denis Cheryshev, Aleksey Miranchuk, Roman Zobnin; Fyodor Smolov
Croatia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Dominik Livakovic; Josko Gvardiol, Domagoj Vida, Duje Caleta-Car, Borna Sosa; Marcelo Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic; Nikola Vlasic, Andrej Kramarić, Ivan Perišić
Russia vs Croatia Prediction
Looking at past results, this is likely to be a cagey affair as the spoils have been shared in three of their last four encounters. We predict this trend will continue with the two sides settling for a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Russia 1-1 Croatia
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