Host Country Russia Opens as Big Favourite Over Saudi Arabia
Published on May 12th, 2018 4:56 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel
The opening match of the 2018 World Cup will feature host nation Russia taking on Saudi Arabia. Russia drew a fairly easy group in the World Cup, as they are playing along with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Russia should be able to advance to the next round of play (likely along with Uruguay), though they will need to take care of Saudi Arabia first. The pressure will be on the Russian side in this one, as they will be playing in front of tens of thousands of their home fans.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, will be looking to take advantage of any jitters that the Russian team might have. While Saudi Arabia is certainly a long shot to advance through this group, they would get things off to a great start if they managed to draw or even defeat the Russian side.
Let's take a look at the odds for this contest, courtesy of Bet365:
Source: Bet365
Time Stamp: May 12th, 2018 4:44 pm EST
Odds Subject to Change
Russia, 6/17
Draw, 4/1
Away, 14/1
Here are the five likeliest outcomes of the June 14th courtesy according to Bet365:
Russia 1-0, 7/2
Russia 2-0, 4/1
Russia 3-0, 6/1
Draw 0-0, 7/1
Russia 2-1, 17/2
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Fedor Smolov, Alan Dzagoev and Anton Zabolotniy are all considered even money or slightly worse to score in this contest.
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Russia should win this contest, though it will be interesting to see how the club copes with the immense pressure of hosting the World Cup and playing in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans, including Vladimir Putin.
