The Russian team disappointed many with their recent performance against Slovakia. Leonid Slutsky’s team conceded two goals in the first half, which led to a half-time substitution of both central midfielders, Neudstadter and Golovin. At home, the coach was severely criticized for fielding these two, as they hadn’t played a single official game for Russia before the tournament.
The picture below is great evidence of just how poor Russia’s defending was at times against Slovakia. You can see that two players are giving a high five to one-another and are thus out of position just seconds before Hamsik scored the second goal for his team.
Ageing and slow central defenders alongside inexperienced centre midfielders have made Russia one of the most vulnerable teams, particularly when being attacked through middle of the pitch. Elsewhere, wing backs Schennikov and Smolnikov haven’t been too convincing either, and one could assume that the match against Wales could turn into a real headache for the Russian fans.
After Hamsik’s goal, the odds on Wales’ win over Russia plummeted from 12/5 to 19/10, which showcases plenty of punter confidence in a Welsh win here. Even at the now shorter price of 19/10, Wales to beat Russia is still a really good bet. You could easily combine these two bets using the enhanced odds link below.
As we all expected him to be, Gareth Bale has been the key man for Wales so far, scoring two free kicks in the first two matches. On the evidence we’ve seen so far Russia are the worst team in this group and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Bale was to add to his tally here. At 29/20 Bale to score anytime looks another good bet.
And if you want something with more of a return, William Hill’s offer of Wales winning 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 is another worthy option. Wales should have enough to come out on top and given that it’s been a fairly low-scoring tournament so far one of the scorelines above doesn’t seem all that unlikely.
Get all of our EURO 2016 tips here.
Enhanced Odds! Click here to back ‘Gareth Bale To Score & Wales To Win’ @ 16/5! + get £20 FREE!