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Russia might make some changes compared to last match

Some of the Russian players have recovered, one was suspended and manager Pisarev announced a changed line-up

After 2-2 in Slovenia in September, Denmark shared points with Slovenia in an interesting and attractive home match with an identical result. The away side started surprisingly well and got an early lead through a somewhat lucky goal, the result was already 2-0 in the 24th minute and the Danes lagged behind in the first half. However, they had an ideal start to the second half - in his debut, Hojbjerg, a promising Bayern 18-year-old, scored as early as the 46th minute and levelled the score 15 minutes before the end for a well deserved draw. Both team could have got their three points in the remaining ten minutes, but split them fairly in the end.

- We knew this match was going to be difficult and Slovenia pressed us and made life difficult. At half-time I told the players to throw caution overboard and we played a very good second half. Of course we would have liked three points, but we are satisfied with the draw. Our next outing in Russia is a key match. After Russia's draw with Bulgaria I feel it is going to be between the three of us to decide who qualifies. Russia are favourites and still undefeated. They are very good opponents, but we go there with confidence - said manager Jess Thorup, who can't count on captain Vestergaard, a very important defender, yet again.

After winning at home, the Russians failed to celebrate away to  Bulgaria. Although they took the lead twice, 1-0 in the first half and 3-2 in the second,  the Bulgarians were able to recover and eventually finished 3-3.

- After the match with Bulgaria , we started to prepare for Denmark. It's quite cold out and that's going to be a problem for the fans, but we can't complain. Only Emelyanov is out, everyone else is ready and there will be some changes compared to our last match - said manager Nikolai Pisarev and added:

- I can't say that Denmark are our biggest rivals in this group, but we'll certainly fight them for the top. We've seen videos of Denmark and are very well informed. Their defence is very good, made up of players who play in good European clubs.

The Russian-Denmark statistics in this cycle, regarding how the both teams play, their tendency to make mistakes and lack of concentration in the back lines, as well as a very potent offense on both sides, suggest that today we should see a couple of goals. The Russians have four overs in four matches, and a total goal-difference of 11-5 with a 3-3 against Bulgaria a couple of days ago. The Danish beat the rock-hard Estonia with 1-0 in an away game, but against the Slovenians, who are very much like Russia game-wise, they twice scored a draw of 2-2, at the same time scoring six goals against the weak Andorra. To put it simply: three overs in four matches with a goal-difference of 11-4. Russia have had 25 shots on target in those four matches, and 29 off target. Denmark had 25 on target, and 24 off target- that's over ten shots per meeting, which is yet another proof of the offensive and open game both teams prefer, and everything is rooting for yet another interesting, goal-rich match.