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No matter the result on Saturday, one team will be disappointed. Both Russia and Mexico have high aspirations for their national soccer club, but on Saturday one team will face an early exit from Confederations Cup. Russia are the hosts, but need an outright win over Mexico to avoid being the first hosts eliminated in the group stage since South Korea in 2011.
Here are the latest odds from Bovada:
Mexico vs. Russia Odds
Spread: Pick, Mexico (-155) and Russia (+130)
Moneyline: Mexico +125, Russia +210, Draw +250
Total: Over 2.5 (EVEN), Under 2.5 (-120)
Prediction:
Mexico can be one of the most frustrating teams to watch.
They opened their tournament against Portugal and played brilliantly. They were tough but smart, they took their chances, and they didn’t give (that many) easy chances to the European champions.
Eight changes and three days later against New Zealand, they were a completely different club. People say that Mexico play to their opposition, but it’s getting a little ridiculous.
The consistency that opened the tournament is what El Tri need to defeat Russia. They can, although a draw is good enough so they probably won’t, but they can do it as long as they play smart.
New Zealand had no business competing with Mexico. Mexico gifted them an early goal, and continued to make things difficult into the second half. Near the end they almost lost control, getting into a physical altercation with the All-Whites just seconds before the final whistle. Osorio was experimenting with his lineup for that game, but Mexico needs consistency if they want to take on the biggest countries in the sport.
It’s a tough spot for Russia, who drew a difficult two opponents for any host nation. They played admirably against Portugal and probably deserved a point, but now they’ll need to be the aggressors. Stanislav Cherchesov has been using a 5-4-1 for the first two matches, but he’ll likely need more offense, especially since Mexico will be content with a draw. That change will be the defining difference in this match, and will determine if Russia have the skill to reach the semifinals.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Best Bet: Both teams to score YES (-125)