10 Predictions For World Cup 2018

Home advantage is a big deal in football, with teams consistently performing better on familiar ground. At domestic and international level, we've seen countless examples of relatively weak sides beating much bigger teams thanks to the presence of their home fans and the comforts of their own pitches and stadiums.

The Russian squad need every bit of help they can get if they're going to have a good World Cup. The host nation are actually going into this tournament as the lowest-rated squad of all, according to FIFA's rankings. The team does have some talented individuals, including goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and midfielders Alan Dzagoev and Aleksandr Golovin, but they won't be going into many matches as favourites.

Not only have the Russians struggled on the pitch recently, but political tensions and controversy have also affected the nation. Fans will be looking to the players to give them a summer to remember, but the odds are firmly stacked against Russia and it would be a surprise to see them get any further than the round of 16.