Brazil vs Russia: 2013 International Friendly

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

 RUSSIA VS BRAZIL

STAMFORD BRIDGE

After an eventful evening in Geneva, Brazil move to Stamford Bridge to face the Russians. Here is the preview to the game with the squad sheets, men to watch and prediction.

The Brazilian squad for this one is the same with no injuries to report from their outing against Italy. Russia's game was postponed due to heavy snow and they will be looking to put up a decent performance against the might of the South Americans.

Brazil Squad

Julio Cesar (QPR)

Diego Cavalieri (Fluminense)

Dani Alves (Barcelona)

Marcelo (Real Madrid)

Filipe Luis (Atletico de Madrid)

David Luiz (Chelsea)

Dede (Vasco de Gama)

Dante (Bayern Munich)

Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain)

Jean (Fluminense)

Fernando (Gremio)

Luiz Gustavo (Bayern Munich)

Kaka (Real Madrid)

Hernandes (Lazio)

Oscar (Chelsea)

Neymar (Santos)

Fred (Fluminense)

Hulk (Zenit St. Petersburg)

Diego Costa (Atletico de Madrid)

Men to Watch

Neymar:
He was magnificent against Italy and he will be looking to carry on. He is playing at a stadium where perhaps his future lies, as he has shown interest in signing for Chelsea FC. Considering the resources of Roman Abramovich, if he wishes that move, he will be there next season. So, there are bound to be some personnel from Chelsea FC there to give Neymar even more incentive to go and thrash Russia.

Apart from Neymar, Hulk needs to improve his game. He was virtually anonymous, and there is a possibility that he will be dropped for this one. But if he does play, he needs to play well.

Russia Squad

Igor Akinfeev (CSKA)

Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA)

Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit)

Vasili Berezutskiy (CSKA)

Aleksei Berezutskiy (CSKA)

Dmitri Kombarov (Spartak)

Andrei Yeschenko (Anzhi)

Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi)

Vladimir Bystrov (Zenit)

Igor Denisov (Zenit)

Roman Shirokov (Zenit)

Alan Dzagoev (CSKA)

Denis Glushakov (Lokomotiv)

Viktor Fayzulin (Zenit)

Aleksandr Samedov (Lokomotiv)

Oleg Shatov (Anzhi)

Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit)

Aleksandr Kokorin (Dynamo)

Maksim Grigoryev (Lokomotiv)

Men to Watch

Igor Denisov
Captain, leader and the heart of midfield. He is the player who can set up something of a match for Russia. The dictator on the pitch, he may not have any international goals to his name, but he sets up his team, especialy Shirokov. This partnership needs to blossom if Capello wishes to get a result out of this game. The team is well rested and the conditions in Bridge will make sure that this game does go on. Denisov and Shirokov to watch out. Kerzhakov is definitely going to be crucial but in order for him to do something, the midfield needs to get the better out of a weak Brazil midfield.

Previous Results 

Head to Head

Brazil 1- 0 Russia

Form

Brazil                                                                                Russia
Italy 2-2 Brazil                                                          Iceland 0-2 Russia
England 2-1 Brazil                                                     Russia 2-2 USA
Argentina 2-1 Brazil                                                   Russia 1- 0 Azerbijan
Brazil 1-1 Colombia                                                   Russia 1-0 Portugal
Brazil 4-0 Japan                                                         Russia 4-0 Israel

Prediction

Brazil 2-0 Russia

Brazil's Scolari is looking for a first win his second spell as national coach and this provides an ideal opportunity to get one. If Brazil puts in a half-decent performance defensively, they would be able to win this one as their forward potency is bound to score. Capello's outfit is in a decent run of form and this presents for them an opportunity to turn one over a real big gun of world football. Russia needs to play better than the opposition midfield to get a result out of this one.