UEFA Nations League: Turkey vs. Russia Preview, Odds, Prediction

Turkey and Russia have always had strained football meetings throughout history, and Sundays UEFA Nations League clash should be no different. Russia is sitting first in Group 3 of League B and hopes to earn a promotion to the top tier of this competition. Meanwhile, the Turks are one point away from lousy Serbia and need to collect some points in order to avoid relegation to League C. It is a pity that there won’t be any fans in the stands because the atmosphere in Turkey is magnificent. 

Preview

Turkey (+150) comes into this event with five straight draws, believe it or not. And all of them were against a pretty good team, some of them world-class. It started with a goalless match in Serbia, then with 3-3 in Germany in a friendly clash, 1-1 in Russia, 2-2 at home against the Serbs, and 3-3 vs. Croatia four days ago in another friendly.

What concerns their coach Senol Gunes is that his boys have just two wins over 10 last games, with a loss and seven draws. The latest four games saw goals on both sides, and three of them went above 3.5 goals, but those prior to it were all under 2.5 scores. 

Turkey is a hard-working side, without too much creativity and flair. However, their fanatical approach to every game is something that makes a difference. 

Russia (+180) has one point more than Hungary but aims to keep that separation until the end of the group stage. The Russians, too, are in the mood for playing draws. Their previous three events didn’t have a winner, against Turkey, Hungary, and Moldova. and all were under 2.5 goals. 

After winning 10 of 11 contests, Zbornaya couldn’t triumph in the past four, and that sounded the alarm, making this match of the utmost importance. An especially unpleasant surprise was Thursday’s 0-0 against Moldova, one of Europe’s weakest teams. 

We are aware that Russia didn’t play with the strongest lineup, but nevertheless, they should have won this contest. Moldova is really a mediocre unit.

Latest News 

AC Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu is set to return to the starting 11, while Burak Yilmaz won’t appear due to a red card suspension. Do follow the news from the Turkish team, because of the situation with Domagoj Vida, who played 45 minutes for Croatia only to find out after the game that he has COVID-19. 

Artem Dzyuba had one pretty vulgar video exposed on the internet, and after that, he won’t start for the Russian side. Shunin, Smolnikov and Fernandez are out from other notable players. 

Head to Head Games

In 21 meetings, Russia has 16 wins, three were without winners, and Turkey won twice. The most recent game was in October, with these sides playing 1-1 in Moscow.

Preview

When you have two pretty tough and uninventive teams such as Turkey and Russia, and on top of that, their clash has a huge competitive significance, goals are out of the question. Under 2.5 scores here are the most realistic, as both sides prepare a conservative approach and will rely upon rival’s mistakes.