Finland and Russia this afternoon go head to head in the second round of Euro 2020 Group B fixtures in Saint Petersburg.
The visitors sealed their maiden victory at a major international tournament courtesy of Joel Pohjanpalo’s post-restart header against Denmark at the weekend, though that match in Copenhagen was obviously overshadowed by the collapse of Christian Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest in the first half but is now thankfully stable and talking in hospital.
As well as for the Danes, the whole experience will have obviously been very distressing for Finland’s players and coaches and it would be completely understandable if their minds were not fully on the task at hand on Wednesday as a result.
Russia opened their campaign later on Saturday evening with a listless 3-0 defeat by tournament contenders Belgium on home soil, with Romelu Lukaku notching either side of a Thomas Meunier goal.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Finland vs Russia is scheduled for a 2pm BST kick-off on Wednesday, June 16, 2021.
The match will be held at Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Where to watch Finland vs Russia
TV channel: The match will be televised on BBC One for free.
Live stream: UK viewers will be able to watch the match online via the BBC iPlayer or BBC Sport website.
Finland vs Russia team news
Russia have been dealt a blow with news Yuri Zhirkov could be ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
The Zenit St Petersburg midfielder was forced off against Belgium due to a calf injury.
Finland vs Russia starting lineups
Finland XI: Hradecky; O’Shaughnessy, Arajuuri, Toivio; Uronen, Kamara, Schüller, Lod, Raitala; Pukki, Pohjanpalo
Russia XI: Safonov; Barinov, Dzhikiya, Diveev; Fernandes, Zobnin, Ozdoev, Kuzyayev; Miranchuk, Golovin; Dzyuba
Finland vs Russia squads
Finland
Goalkeepers: Lukas Hradecky, Jesse Joronen, Anssi, Jaakkola
Defenders: Thomas Lam, Paulus Arajuuri, Jere Uronen, Juhani Ojala, Sauli Vaisanen, Nikolai Alho, Daniel O'Shaughnessy, Niko Hamalainen, Leo Vaisanen, Robert Ivanov
Midfielders: Jasin Assehnoun, Onni Valakari, Pyry Soiri, Fredrik Jensen, Joni Kauko, Glen Kamara, Rasmus Schuller, Tim Sparv
Forwards: Teemu Pukki, Lassi Lappalainen, Marcus Forss, Joel Pohjanpalo
Russia
Goalkeepers: Yuri Dyupin, Matvei Safonov, Anton Shunin
Defenders: Georgi Dzhikiya, Igor Diveev, Yuri Zhirkov, Vyacheslav Karavaev, Fedor Kudryashov, Andrei Semenov, Mario Fernandes, Roman Evgeniev
Midfielders: Dmitri Barinov, Rifat Zhemaletdinov, Maksim Mukhin, Aleksandr Golovin, Daniil Fomin, Roman Zobnin, Alexei Ionov, Daler Kuzyayev, Magomed Ozdoev, Denis Makarov, Aleksei Miranchuk, Denis Cheryshev
Forwards: Artem Dzyuba, Anton Zabolotny, Aleksandr Sobolev
Finland vs Russia prediction
Finland’s players are bound to have been impacted by the events in Copenhagen, where football quickly became very unimportant.
It would be completely understandable if their minds and preparations weren’t quite right for this contest.
Russia, meanwhile, were dismal against an albeit very strong Belgium team, with huge improvements needed if they are to harbour realistic hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
1-1 draw
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Finland wins: 0
Russia wins: 4
Draws: 0
Betting odds and tips
Finland to win: 19/4
Draw: 11/4
Russia to win: 4/6
