Juan Carlos Osorio's side are currently positioned at the summit of the standings following their 2-1 victory over New Zealand last time out, but it was far from a convincing performance from the CONCACAF representatives, who fell behind to a Chris Wood strike before turning the game on its head thanks to efforts from Raul Jimenez and Oscar Peralta. Mexico will therefore need to improve at the Kazan Arena if they are to book a place in the semi-finals, which will be guaranteed if they simply avoid defeat against the Russians. Making it through to the last four is widely seen as the minimum expectation for El Tri, so the pressure will be on despite the fact that they are currently residing in first place in the group.
Russia fell to defeat by European champions Portugal when they last took to the field, which means nothing less than a win will do in this one if they are to secure a spot in the last four. Stanislav Cherchesov's charges struggled against Fernando Santos' men, who took an early lead through Cristiano Ronaldo before keeping their opponents at arm's length for the remainder of the encounter, while also retaining a considerable counter-attacking threat. Russia did impress in a 2-0 defeat of New Zealand last week, though, and it would therefore be a mistake to write them off ahead of Saturday's significant showdown in Kazan.
Mexico fielded a 3-5-2 formation last time out but Osorio may be tempted to revert to a four-man backline here, perhaps also with three forwards positioned high up the pitch. Javier Hernandez is likely to return to the starting XI after missing out against New Zealand, while fellow attacker Carlos Vela could also return to the line-up. Mexico will try to dominate possession and take the initiative here, but they must be wary about leaving the hosts too much space on the counter-attack.
Russia, meanwhile, look set to keep faith with their 3-4-2-1 formation this weekend. Fyodor Smolov will be relied upon for goals at the top of the pitch, with Yuri Zhirkov and Aleksandr Golovin once again the favourites to provide creative support as the team's inside forwards. Denis Glushakov, now 30 years of age, will be a vital figure in the centre of the park, while goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev will need to be at the top of his game between the sticks.
Taking everything into account, it could be worth putting some cash on a draw at the Kazan Arena - a result which would take Mexico through and leave Russia to contemplate an early exit on home soil. It would also be wise to back both teams to find the back of the net, largely because neither looks defensively solid enough to keep their opponents out. If you are feeling particularly brave, a 2-2 draw in the correct scoreline market would fetch a decent return.
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