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Match Preview: Russia vs Egypt, Group A, June 19

The second game of World Cup group play for Russia and Egypt kicks off on Tuesday June 19th at 2pm Eastern time at Saint Petersburg Stadium. Russia is coming off a 5-0 win in World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia, and Egypt is trying to rebound after their 1-0 loss against Uruguay. These two teams have never played each other before in international competition. Russia is favored in this game according to the open lines at our World Cup betting odds page, but Egypt has an x-factor in Mohammed Salah, who set the Premier League record for goals this past season with 40 tallies for his club Liverpool. He was injured in the final game of the Champion's league, however, and he will be questionable for this matchup. He was on the sidelines for the Uruguay game, but did not see any action. If he is healthy, the key for this game will be if Egypt has enough support to make the most of Salah's talents.

Russia

After the overwhelming success that was their first game, Russia is not likely to make too many changes for game 2 against Egypt, which, like Saudi Arabia is a defense-minded team. They should keep their 4-2-3-1 formation, but may opt to start Denis Cheryshev, who netted two goals in the Saudi Arabia game in favor of Alan Dzagoev. Cheryshev was not even expected to be on Russia's roster for the World Cup, but thanks to an early substitution when Dzagoev suffered an injury, Cheryshev took advantage of the opportunity and netted a pair of goals for the host nation.

Egypt

The big news for Egypt is that Mohammed Salah will likely be returning. After the devastating loss to Uruguay, this addition is likely not only to improve Egypt's attack, but also lift the spirits of an Egypt team that saw a well-played match against Uruguay go to waste in the final minutes when Jose Gimenez scored in the 89th minute to seal a Uruguay victory. Other than that, not much changes for Egypt. Historically, they are content to sit back and let other teams have a go at them offensively, then using Salah to take care of the scoring on the counterattack. That is a tactic that worked wonders for them all throughout qualifying, as Salah was the CAF qualifying goal leader with 5 goals.

Match Overview

The host nation holds an edge here, having a deeper roster that just came off a spectacular victory. Egypt will be banking heavily on the ability of its team to create scoring opportunities for Salah, now that he is available. Properly breaking down the Russian defense will be key, as Russia plays with a back three that were able to completely shut down the Saudi Arabians. If Egypt can achieve proper movement through the midfield on the counterattack, look for Salah to be a difference maker. If not, then the Russians, who have a much more balanced attack, will have an easier time at penetrating the Egyptian defense without having to worry about defensive chances ending up in their own net.

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Group Phase