Odds favour Russia in battle to seal World Cup qualification

Russia can all but guarantee their place in the final betting markets for World Cup 2010 by beating Germany in Moscow on Saturday.

Gus Hiddink's team can grasp top spot in their qualification group with a win, and if they can pull out a performance against Azerbaijan on Wednesday, send Germany to the relative embarrassment of a play-off spot.

IASbet is offering odds of 2.35 for Russia to prevail, with Germany at 2.91 to take all the three points on offer. The draw is at 3.15 with the same bookmaker.

Quoted by the Guardian, Hiddink said: "The Germans have never failed to reach the World Cup finals, it says a lot about a country. But it doesn't mean we can't beat them.

"We also hadn't beaten England for a very long time until that win in Moscow. So we will approach Saturday's game with the same confidence."

World Cup betting markets at IASbet also have Russia at odds of 26.00 to triumph in South Africa next year, while Germany are at 11.00 to take football's biggest prize.

The joint favourites for South Africa 2010 are Brazil and Spain, both on 5.50 with the same bookmaker, while England stand on 7.00 and current champions Italy on 13.00.