By Ian S. Palmer
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Group G of Euro 2016 qualifying hasn’t been settled yet as the runner-up position and an automatic berth at next year’s European Championship tournament is still up for grabs. Russia is currently in the pole position, but Sweden is ready to pounce on it if the Russians slip up. Russia will attempt to clinch second place in the group when they host Montenegro in their 10th and final game which will be held at the Otkrytie Arena in Moscow on Monday, October 12. It will be Russia’s 150th UEFA Championship game in the team’s history.
Euro 2016 Qualifying – Russia vs Montenegro Monday Oct 12
Russia vs Montenegro Pinnacle BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle currently lists Russia as the favorites at 2/7 Montenegro 10/1 and a draw at 4/1
Head to Head History:
- This is just the second time the two sides of Russia and Montenegro have ever met at the senior national level and the first time meeting in Russia. Their first meeting came back in March in Montenegro, but the game was called off after 67 minutes with the score tied at 0-0. The match was halted when Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was hit with an object that was thrown from the stands and couldn’t continue. UEFA ruled that Montenegro forfeited the contest and it was awarded to Russia with a score line of 3-0.
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Austria has clinched Group G and automatic qualification with their 25 points. Russia currently sits in second place with 17 points from five wins, two draws and two losses. They’ve scored 19 goals and allowed five against. Sweden is right behind them in third place with 15 points and they’re followed by Montenegro with 11, Liechtenstein with five and Moldova with just two. Montenegro’s 11 points have come from three victories, a pair of draws and four defeats. They’ve scored 10 times and have conceded 11.
A win by Russia over Montenegro will clinch second place no matter what Sweden do in their final outing at home against Moldova. Of course, a Russian loss and a Swedish win will see the two teams swap places and Russia would then have to enter the qualifying playoff round. If Russia should happen to draw and Sweden wins they’ll both finish the group with 18 points. Russia will clinch second place though due to a better head-to-head record against Sweden. They beat the Swedes 1-0 at home and drew them 1-1 in Sweden.
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Russia has lost just one of their past 13 Euro/World Cup qualifiers at home, which was a 1-0 defeat to Austria earlier in Group G qualifying for Euro 2016. They’ve won 10 ad drawn the other two during that stretch. Montenegro has won just once in their past six qualifiers while losing three and drawing two. Montenegro is entering this game after a 3-2 home loss to Austria on Thursday while Russia were 2-1 winners in Moldova the same day. Fans may see the Russians play a conservative game since their objective is to simply avoid defeat at the hands of Montenegro.
Click here to learn more about SOCCER BETTING and how to bet on the Russia vs Montenegro match from eBetting101.com.