Game Preview: Russia vs. Israel - World Cup Qualifications - September 10th, 2013

Russia will face Israel at the Petrovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, September 10th, 2013. The upcoming battle is part of the FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifiers and it is taking place in Group F.

A win for Russia against Israel would clinch them the top spot in the group with two games remaining. Portugal at the moment are two points ahead, but they have also played one extra game. Israel are three points behind Russia. If they managed to win on Tuesday, they would still be in contention for a spot that goes to the World Cup.

Russia are coming off a 4-1 victory vs. Luxembourg, after losing the previous two matches to Northern Ireland (1-0) and Portugal (1-0). Isreal most recently drew with Azerbeijan 1-1 at home, after beating Northern Ireland in Belfast 0-2 earlier this year.

The odds for the upcoming match in St. Petersburg are as follows:

Russia: 3/10
Draw: 4/1
Israel: 10/1

Russia are the favourites to win at home. A 100 € bet on the hosts could return 130 € in profit, while the same bet on Israel could return 1,000 € in profit.

Alexander Kerzhakov, who currently plays for Zenit St. Petersburg, is the favourite to score for Russia on Tuesday at 21/20 (bet 100 € for a chance to profit 105 €). Eliran Atar, who plays for Stade de Reims, is the favourite to score for Israel at 9/2 (bet 100 € for a chance to profit 450 €).

This is a big game for Russia. A win here would put them in charge of the group. Russia plays two relatively easy games vs. Luxembourg and Azerbaijan in October, and if they managed to win all three remaining matches, they would automatically qualify for Brazil.

Can Israel surprise in St. Petersburg on Tuesday and stay alive in the qualifications, or will Russia take the opportunity to take the lead in Group F?

Let's see how things play out!