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League B Group 3 leaders Russia face second-placed Hungary in the fourth round UEFA Nations League fixture on Wednesday night at the Lev Yashin Stadium in Moscow.
The encounter will be the reverse fixture of the game played at the Puskás Aréna back in September in which Russia registered a 3-2 away win. Russia are the only undefeated team in their group and will aim to continue their unbeaten run against Hungary, who head into the game on a two-game winning streak.
A win here would mean a guaranteed spot in the knockout rounds for the winner with two games to spare, so a lot is at stake in this midweek fixture.
Russia vs Hungary Head-to-Head
Russia and Hungary have only met eight times in friendlies and various competitions, with two of those meetings coming in 1912, as per historical records. Hungary, who were the undisputed titans in world football at that time, won both of those fixtures but have not registered a single win since.
In their last six encounters, Russia have won five games, with only one ending in a draw. This fixture will be the first home game for Sbornaya against Hungary since 1993 and they will be hoping to emerge victorious to prove their domination in this fixture.
Russia form guide: D-L-W-W-W
Hungary form guide: W-W-L-W-L
Also See: Romania vs Austria prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Nations League 2020-21
Russia vs Hungary Team News
Russia will be without defender Mario Fernandes for the game as the right-back tested positive for COVID-19 before their game against Turkey. Fortunately, the rest of the squad tested negative and head coach Stanislav Cherchesov has a large squad at his disposal.
Georgy Dzhikiya and Marinato Guilherme returned inconclusive results and both footballers were isolated from the rest of the national squad before their game against Sweden. The latest set of tests showed that only Fernandes tested positive, so their inclusion in the squad remains doubtful.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Georgy Dzhikiya, Marinato Guilherme
Suspended: None
Withdrawn: Mario Fernandes
As per reports, Hungary manager Marco Rossi will have to make do without the duo of Peter Gulacsi and Roland Sallai, who have withdrawn from the squad to join RB Leipzig and Freiburg respectively to prepare for the return of Bundesliga action this weekend.
Szilveszter Hangya has withdrawn from the squad following minor injuries sustained against Serbia as he was taken off after the first 45 minutes of the game.
Injured: Szilveszter Hangya
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Withdrawn: Peter Gulacsi, Roland Sallai
Russia vs Hungary Predicted XI
Russia predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Anton Shunin; Vyacheslav Karavayev, Ilya Kutepov, Andrei Semyonov, Yuri Zhirkov; Yury Gazinsky, Magomed Ozdoyev; Denis Cheryshev, Aleksei Ionov, Anton Miranchuk; Artem Dzyuba
Hungary Predicted XI (3-4-3): Dénes Dibusz; Attila Szalai, Adam Lang, Willi Orban; Loic Nego, Adam Nagy, Dávid Sigér, Filip Holender; Zsolt Kalmár, Nemanja Nikolic, Adam Szalai
Russia vs Hungary Prediction
Russia boasts a good record in European qualifiers in recent years and are still undefeated in their Nations League campaign.
They were defeated in a friendly game by Sweden and were held to a 1-1 draw by Turkey last time around but have enough quality in their ranks to pull off a win here against Hungary, who will be without some key players in the fixture. We predict a narrow win for the Russians.
Prediction: Russia 2-1 Hungary
