The big day has finally arrived as hosts Russia gets the 2018 World Cup underway against Saudi Arabia at 1700 CET from the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Whilst the match doesn't appear to be the most glamorous of opening day numbers, we should see a competitive fixture despite the Saudis underdog status. 16:00 Russia vs Saudi Arabia - Prediction 1.1
Best Bets BTTS @13-/8 - 2 stars Saudi Arabia plus 2 @8/13 - 3.5 stars Draw @14/5 - 1.5 stars Our first game of the tournament comes from Moscow and all the pressure is on the hosts who will surely need to get off to a winning start when they take on a Saudi side that really should not be underestimated in this fixture. The Russians have only won 6 of their last 26 matches whilst they have failed to record a win in 2018 and I don't expect them to win this one, and certainly not by more than 1 goal against a side that has looked well-organized and threatening in recent friendly performances against Germany and Italy. Given the hosts poor form, I can't back the home win at just 4/9 odds on. Instead, I'll take the Saudis plus 2 @8/13 whilst BTTS is huge @6/4 and has to have a chance with both sides probably aware that 3 points will be necessary to give themselves any real chance of advancing to the round of 16. I don't expect a goalfest but both could hit the net with Russia only keeping 1 clean sheet in their last 12 home matches. I'm going for a 1.1 draw with the hosts struggling to make the opening day impression they would have expected when this draw was made back in December with BTTS and the Saudis plus 1 my best selections here. Friday and Saturday look like cracking days as the competition really gets into full swing and I will do my best to cover all those matches in as much detail as possible over the weekend. I will also be putting on my antepost accas during the course of the next 3 hours and will post images of these to twitter should anyone wish to follow. Here though are my favourite selection, taken from my previews. To Win the Group France to win the group @2/7 - 4 stars Brazil to win the group @2/7 - 4 stars Germany to win the group @1/3 - 3.5 stars Uruguay to win the group @4/6 - 3.5 stars Argentina to win the group @8/13 - 3 stars Colombia to win group @11/8 - 2 stars To Qualify for last 16 Colombia to qualify @4/11 - 4 stars Spain and Portugal to qualify @2/5 - 4 stars France and Denmark to qualify @10/11 - 3 stars Germany and Sweden to qualify @6/4 - 2.5 stars Argentina and Iceland to qualify @ 9/2 - 1 star Uruguay and Egypt to qualify @7/2 - 1.5 stars To Finish Bottom of the Group Panama to finish bottom @1/2 - 4 stars Australia to finish bottom of the group @4/5 - 3.5 stars Iran to finish bottom @5/6 - 3 stars Costa Rica to finish bottom @4/6 - 3 stars South Korea to finish bottom of the group @ 8/11 - 3 Stars Top Team Scorer Ronaldo top team scorer (Portugal) @8/13 - 3.5 stars Neymar top team scorer (Brazil) @6/4 - 2.5 stars Griezmann top team scorer (France) @6/4 - 2.5 stars Eriksen top team scorer (Denmark @7/4 - 2 stars Lukaku top team scorer (Belgium) @13/8 - 2.5 stars Rodriguez top team scorer (Colombia) @3/1 - 1.5 stars Other selections Lowest scoring team - Panama @6/1 Top Scorer - Griezmann @12/1 Winner/Top Scorer - Brazil/Griezmann @100/1 Golden Glove - De Gea @4/1 Highest Scoring Group - Group H @8/1 Name the Finalists - Spain vs Brazil @14/1 Russia under 5 points @6/4 - 2 stars Russia not to qualify @9/4 - 1.5 stars Germany to reach semi finals @1/1 - 2.5 stars Nigeria to finish bottom @7/5 - 1.5 stars Panama under 2 points @7/10 - 3.5 stars Comments are closed.
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