Having thrashed the Czech Republic in their opening game at Euro 2012, Russia look like a tough proposition for any team and it will be the job of co-hosts Poland to try and stop them in Warsaw on Tuesday (Poland 12/5, draw 9/4, Russia 5/4 Match Betting).
The competition got off to a lively start on Friday, with Poland impressing in the first half against the Greeks before allowing their opponents back into a game which saw two red cards.
The 1-1 draw will have been a disappointment to head coach Franciszek Smuda, who saw his side dominate periods of the game against Greece, before being undone by their own goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Having been at fault for the Greek goal, the Arsenal man saw red and was in great debt to substitute keeper Przemyslaw Tyton, who saved the resulting penalty to keep Poland’s Euro 2012 campaign very much alive.
Tyton looks set to start between the sticks against the Russians at the National Stadium in the absence of the suspended Szczesny.
In attack the Poles will once again be looking to striker Robert Lewandowski (5/1 first goalscorer), who has continued to be linked with a move to Premier League giants Manchester United.
The 23-year-old Borussia Dortmund star looked like a threat throughout the first half against the Greeks and really got the home fans cheering with the opening goal of the tournament.
Poland will certainly need the supporters to be a 12th man in this game against a very talented Russia side, who took apart the Czechs in their opening encounter.
The Russian’s looked extremely dangerous in attack especially their exciting talent Alan Dzagoev (7/1 first goalscorer), who could well turn out to be a star of this tournament, having bagged himself a brace on Friday night.
Andrey Arshavin, who was largely disappointing in the Premier League with Arsenal this season before making a loan move back to his homeland with Zenit St Petersburg, looked back in the form that made him such an attractive prospect for the north London outfit.
The Russian skipper looked dangerous against the Czech Republic and the Poles will have to keep tabs on the 31-year-old on Tuesday night.
Russia (11/1 Euro 2012 outright) would go a long way to securing top spot in their group and booking their place in the knockout stages of the tournament in Poland and the Ukraine with a victory over the co-hosts, before taking on the struggling Greeks.
This really is a must-win game for Poland if they want to stand a realistic chance of making the quarter-finals to most likely face the winners of Group D, which could well be France or England.
However, based on Russia’s opening performance and their recent free-scoring form, with a 3-0 win over Italy in their previous game, it’s hard to look past Arshavin leading his talented side to another victory.
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