After a nervy 2-1 home win over Wales, with a late winner, Russia lost 1-2 in Germany at the weekend and Guus Hiddink may be a little apprehensive of this clash against Finland, as 3 points is a must if he wants to compete with the Germans for the top spot in the group.

They are around $1.35 to win, but Finland should be able to compete in this game; The Fins were just 3 points off Portugal in the Euro qualifiers and they based their improved form on defence.

An impressive 3-3 draw at home to Germany in their penultimate game being the exception, 4 out of Finland’s last 5 games have seen under 2.5 goals; in fact, including almost all of their Euro qualifiers, 11 of Finland’s last 14 games have been under 2.5.

Match Betting Previews 15 October 2008 >>> World Cup 2010 UEFA qualifying: Group 2: Greece v Switzerland Group 4: Germany v Wales - Russia v Finland Group 5: Belgium v Spain Group 6: Belarus v England Group 8: Italy v Montenegro - Ireland v Cyprus Group 9: Norway v Netherlands

Hiddink has cause to be wary of Finland and this game may not be an easy one for the Russians; he tends to play cautiously against decent sides and in Russia’s impressive Euro 2008 campaign as one example, in terms of goals scored, they struggled, scoring only 5 goals in their 5 games - this should be a low-scoring game and Bet365’s $2.00 for the under 2.5 goals could be worth siding with.

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Bet: Under 2.5 goals Odds: $2.00 Stake: 5.5pts Bookies: Bet365

Match Betting Previews 15 October 2008 >>> World Cup 2010 UEFA qualifying: Group 2: Greece v Switzerland Group 4: Germany v Wales - Russia v Finland Group 5: Belgium v Spain Group 6: Belarus v England Group 8: Italy v Montenegro - Ireland v Cyprus Group 9: Norway v Netherlands