Russia v Slovakia: Editors’ betting tip

Russia did manage to take a point against England, but this was largely down to the poor decision making of Roy Hodgson and his team. England should’ve scored more in the game, especially on the counter when leading 1:0, but failing to add fresh forward players into the mix, combined with their attempts to see the game out proved costly. In general Russia were outplayed, especially in the midfield, where Golovin and Neustaedter showcased a lack of team work. Leonid Slutsky is an experienced coach, but no one could understand the role of Kokorin and Smolov on the pitch. These two attacking players tried to create something on flanks, but were totally useless. The only thing that Russia manage to use to good effect was their final, rather hopeful, attack.

Slovakia on the other hand, despite losing 2:1, left a positive impression. Weiss and Mak were fast on the flanks, while Hamsik caused problems through the middle and was unlucky not to score. Now they will be desperate to win because anything less than three points here would make qualifying for the knockout rounds very difficult. Just one look at the pictures of the Slovakian players after the game vs Wales and you get the impression that they’ll have enough motivation for the next game. On the contrary, Russian players might be slightly less motivated after they were seemingly happy with their result against England. Many of them can see Slovakia as the outsider of Group B, which is dangerously wrong. Psychology can play a crucial role in this upcoming game.

If Slutsky can’t find the right tactics for his players, Russia will struggle to create something against Slovakia. It’s hard to imagine them sneaking another rather lucky injury time equaliser if they are behind here.  Skrtel can nullify the threat of Dzyuba in the air. Whereas 36-year old Ignashevich and 33-year old Berezutski are likely to face plenty of problems against the Slovakia attack, particularly Marek Hamsik. It’s also likely that Slovakia, having seen their opponents game against England, will press Russia high up the pitch which can easily cause mistakes from an ageing and somewhat slow defensive line. So, there are to be no more let-offs for Russia and this one has three Slovakian points written all over it at a very appealing 9/4.

You can find more EURO 2016 Tips here.