Russia v New Zealand: Hosts could struggle to put on a show

Russia v New Zealand
Saturday 16:00 (Live on ITV1)

We went to Argentina for goals yesterday, but ended up with just one as Temperley sneaked past San Martin de San Juan.

This weekend brings the tenth edition of the Confederations Cup. The tournament starts in St Petersburg today, as hosts Russia entertain Oceania champions New Zealand at Krestovsky Stadium.

Except 'entertain' might not be quite the right word. This is New Zealand's fourth appearance at the tournament and, to date, they haven't done much. In nine previous group games, they've lost eight times and scored just two goals.

More recently, the last 12 months have seen the All Whites score just seven times in five World Cup qualifiers against Fiji (two), New Caledonia (two) and the Soloman Islands. Though they managed clean sheets in all five, we're not too concerned about their goal threat.

Russia have been in underwhelming form themselves, winning just 2/9 games since June last year. They struck just eight times in their five home Euro 2016 qualifiers - and those numbers include a 4-0 win over Liechtenstein.

We think they could struggle to break down opponents who are determined to keep things respectable. For this reason, we're staying below the line this afternoon.

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