Neighbours Belarus and Russia meet in an international friendly on Friday in Minsk. Our Belarus vs Russia prediction considers whether the visitors can claim victory despite their continued exile from competitive action.
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Belarus vs Russia prediction: Visitors to win to nil
Key stats
- Our Belarus vs Russia betting tips take into account that seven of the home team’s last eight internationals have produced under 2.5 goals.
- Belarus have won just three of their last 14 home games.
- There has been just one defeat in 12 friendly matches for Russia since they were banned from official action following the invasion of Ukraine.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Russia favourites to claim friendly win
- HOME: 4/1 (5.00) – 20.0%
- DRAW: 14/5 (3.80) – 26.3%
- AWAY: 4/6 (1.67) – 60.0%
*odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
The visitors are the favourites according to the Belarus vs Russia odds with an implied probability of 60.0% that they win this game.
Russia were last in action in March when they were impressive 4-0 winners against Serbia with Anton Miranchuk starting the rout from the penalty spot.
Belarus have continued to play competitive football over the past couple of years but their last game was also a friendly which ended in a 2-0 home defeat against Montenegro.
For more analysis and the latest picks, today’s betting tips will guide you around the best bets from this week’s football action.
Last five H2Hs: First meeting since 2015
Our Belarus vs Russia prediction suggests the visitors will emerge victorious as was the case when the sides last met in 2015. Aleksandr Golovin was among the scorers that day in a 4-2 friendly win. There have been very few meetings between the nations overall.
International Match 07/06/15
Russia
Belarus
Belarus preview: Youngsters pushing for minutes
Uncapped youngsters German Barkovskiy and Maksim Kasarab of Dinamo Brest could make their debuts for Belarus who have not included striker Pavel Savitsky in their squad.
Predicted Lineup: Ignatovich (GK), Volkov, Politevich, Pyachenin, Polyakov, Ebong, Klimovich, Korzun, Bocherov, Antilevsky & Barkovskiy
International Match 25/03/25
W Azerbaijan 0 Belarus 2 International Match 20/03/25
W Tajikistan 0 Belarus 5 UEFA Nations League C 18/11/24
D Bulgaria 1 Belarus 1 UEFA Nations League C 15/11/24
L Northern Ireland 2 Belarus 0 UEFA Nations League C 15/10/24
D Luxembourg 1 Belarus 1
Russia preview: Khlusevich withdraws from squad
There has been one injury withdrawal for Russia with Spartak defender Daniil Khlusevich dropping out of the initial squad.
Predicted Lineup: Safonov (GK), Diveyev, Osipenko, Silyanov, Gorshkov, Zakharyan, Miranchuk, Glebov, Kuzyayev, Chalov & Tyukavin
International Match 25/03/25
W Zambia 0 Russia 5 International Match 19/03/25
W Grenada 0 Russia 5 International Match 19/11/24
W Syria 0 Russia 4 International Match 15/11/24
W Brunei 0 Russia 11 African Nations C'ship Qualifying 05/09/24
W Vietnam 0 Russia 3
Player to watch – Arsen Zakharyan
Real Sociedad midfielder Arsen Zakharyan is one of the bright young hopes for the Russia national team. The 21 year old has so far won eight caps for his country and is still waiting for his first goal.
A mixed start to life in Spain
Zakharyan struggled to make a massive impact in his debut season in La Liga. The versatile midfielder made 29 appearances in the Spanish top flight for La Real, scoring once and assisting twice whilst completing 77.1% of his passes.