Russia will look to seize control of Group F when it takes on lowly Luxembourg in the World Cup 2014 qualifiers on Friday.
The top team in each UEFA group winds up qualifying for the World Cup next summer while the second place squad must endure a two-legged playoff to get a chance at traveling to Brazil.
Russia currently occupies second place in Group F with 12 points and trails Portugal by two points; however, Russia has a game in hand on the Iberian squad and only needs a win to pull away from the pack.
The Russians opened their tournament with a 2-0 win against Northern Ireland and destroyed Israel 4-0 in their second match of qualifiers. The winning continued when Russia took down Portugal and Azerbaijan in two straight 1-0 decisions. However, the team was unable to build on this success, losing 1-0 to Portugal in its fifth qualifier. In its sixth game against Northern Ireland, Russia had a prime chance to leap frog Portugal with two games in hand but flopped miserably in a 1-0 loss against Northern Ireland. While that game is unlikely to do much for Northern Ireland, it could hurt Russia's chances at winning the group.
Luxembourg has three points in six matches and is on its last legs. With only four games left to play, Luxembourg can only gain a total of 15 points with four straight wins; a loss to Russia will eliminate them completely from contention.
Prediction: Russia should win this game at home. Look for a 3-0 Russian victory.
Start Time: 11 a.m. EST
TV Info: ESPN Deportes
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