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In search of a third consecutive win in Group H of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Russia welcome Slovakia to the Kazan Arena on Friday.
The visitors picked up a morale-boosting win in their last outing and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Russia made it two wins from two games in the World Cup qualifying group stages last time out when they saw off Malta 2-0 on 7 September.
Valeri Georgievich Karpin’s men are now unbeaten in each of their last three games after playing out a 1-1 draw with Croatia and beating Cyprus 2-0 in their previous two outings.
With 13 points from six games, Russia are currently second in Group H, level on points with leaders Croatia and four points ahead of Friday’s visitors.
Slovakia, meanwhile, arrested their slump in form last time out as they claimed a 2-0 win over Cyprus.
Prior to that, the Falcons were on a run of four games without a win, picking up one draw and losing three since a 2-1 win over Poland back in June’s European Championship.
Head coach Stefan Tarkovic will hope the win last time out can serve as a springboard for a fine run of form as they look to surge up the table in the coming games.
Russia vs Slovakia Head-To-Head
Slovakia boast a slightly superior record in the history of this fixture, claiming four wins from their previous 10 encounters. Russia have picked up one fewer win, while three games have ended all square.
Russia Form Guide (all competitions): W-L-D-W-W
Slovakia Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-D-L-W
Russia vs Slovakia Team News
Russia
The hosts will be without Vyacheslav Karavaev, Stanislav Magkeyev and Aleksei Ionov, who are all currently recuperating from injuries. Artem Dzyuba remains unavailable due to personal reasons, while Aleksei Miranchuk will serve a one-match suspension.
Injured: Vyacheslav Karavaev, Stanislav Magkeyev, Aleksei Ionov
Suspended: Aleksei Miranchuk
Unavailable: Artem Dzyuba
Slovakia
Slovakia will take to the pitch without the services of Stanislav Lobotka and Vladimir Weiss, who have been ruled out through muscle and hamstring injuries.
Injured: Stanislav Lobotka, Vladimir Weiss
Suspended: None
Russia vs Slovakia Predicted XI
Russia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Guilherme Marinato; Ilya Samoshnikov, Igor Diveev, Fyodor Kudryashov, Daler Kuzyaev; Aleksandr Yerokhin, Dmitriy Barinov, Aleksandr Golovin; Aleksey Ionov, Fedor Smolov, Arsen Zakharyan
Slovakia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Marek Rodák; Peter Pekarík, Ľubomír Šatka, Milan Škriniar, Jakub Holúbek; Marek Hamšík, Stanislav Lobotka, Juraj Kucka; Ivan Schranz, Erik Jirka, Róbert Mak
Russia vs Slovakia Prediction
After easing past Cyprus and Malta, Russia now face a stern test of taking on a much more experienced and equally-matched Slovakian side. The visitors, meanwhile, will be looking to build on their win last time out after suffering a decline in form.
With just one place between the sides in the FIFA World Rankings, we expect a cagey and pulsating contest on Friday. However, we anticipate both sides will settle for a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Russia 1-1 Slovakia
