Thursday 25/06/2014, 22:00, World Cup Group H, Algeria vs Russia

Algeria vs Russia Betting Preview

Russia has made radical changes in the starting formation and as a result the players need to adjust to a brand-new reality. The good news is that the string of friendly games played ahead of the World Cup gave Capello the chance to test his formation and strategy, with results meeting expectations. Algeria is a convenient opponent because their defensive is more vulnerable than four years ago when they held England scoreless.

Algeria vs Russia Betting Odds

At Bet365

Algeria 6.50, Draw 3.60, Russia 1.55

Algeria vs Russia Betting Tips

Russia competes for the second place in Group H, while Belgium is credited with the first chance, but this is not written in stone. A draw against the favorites and back to back victories over Algeria and South Korea could see the Russians through as winners. This would be a huge achievement, because finishing first means that they will avoid a confrontation with Germany in the first elimination round.

When playing against a lesser team such as Algeria, the right course of action is to come out firing on all cylinders and force an early goal. Russia will need to bring more players forward to assist Kerzhakov and Kokorin, or start with three strikers by using 22-year-old Kanunnikov. This is unlikely to happen, because Capello loves his 4-4-2, which means that Dzagoev and Zhirkov will need to be more aggressive.

Algeria used to defend with all lines at the World Cup, for the simple reason that they wanted to avoid humiliating defeats. They don't have high expectations for Brazil, but they are unlikely to sit back and settle for a narrow margin defeat.

The friendly games campaign went silky smooth for the North African team, who won three games in a row after winning the playoff match with Burkina Faso. Keeping clean sheets appears to be a problem for Algeria, but Taider and Slimani are in great form and have scored in each of the recent games. There is a very good chance for the two strikers to be used against Russia and it would come as no surprise if any of them would score.

Key Facts

• Russia is undefeated in 9 consecutive games, while Algeria has a winning streak of 4 matches.
• The number of goals scored in this group could decide the winner, so narrow margin victories are not very attractive

Algeria vs Russia Betting Odds Prediction

Backing Russia to win this fixture is one way to handle things, but punters would have to settle for low odds. A better choice is to wager on more than 2.5 goals to be scored at odds above even value, a probable outcome given Algeria's recent offensive surge and defensive woes.

Bet: Over 2.5 goals @ 2.20 with Bet365