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By Gennady Fyodorov
MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - England will qualify for next year's European Championship finals if they record their first win in Moscow for 34 years and beat Russia in their Group E match on Wednesday.
While England would probably return from the Luzhniki Stadium happy with a draw, Russia must beat England to keep their hopes of a place in the finals alive.
Croatia lead the group standings with 26 points with two matches to play. England have 23 and Russia 18, but the Russians have a game in hand over their rivals.
Russia know they need to win their last three matches to qualify, while England must avoid defeat in their final two games. If Russia lose on Wednesday, Croatia and England are through. If they draw, Croatia also qualify.
Russia's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink has failed to beat an English team in nine attempts at both club and international level, with his most recent failure coming at Wembley Stadium a month ago when England trounced Russia 3-0.
On Saturday England recorded their fifth successive 3-0 win in the qualifying group with victory over Estonia, while Russia did not play. England are unlikely to have things as easy on a freezing night in Moscow where they face Russia on an artificial pitch.
PLASTIC PITCH
England boss Steve McClaren has played down the significance of the plastic surface but he must deal with the absence of his first-choice left back Ashley Cole, who suffered an ankle injury against Estonia.
Cole's place is likely to be taken by Phil Neville but England, expected to play a 4-3-3 formation to counter Russia's attacking game, also have doubts over captain John Terry's knee.
The central defender did not play on Wednesday. He is still also nursing a depressed fracture of the cheekbone but has not been ruled out yet.
Hiddink has his own injury worries, with winger Vladimir Bystrov and striker Ivan Saenko both ruled out and he would not dwell on England's problems.
"England have more than 11 quality players, so it doesn't matter if Cole and Terry would play or not," the Dutchman told reporters on Monday. "We must focus on our own game."
Russia captain Andrei Arshavin said the game would be like a final for his side.
"We'll be playing in front of our home fans. A full house, a great atmosphere, I hope it'll make a big difference."
England travel to Moscow buoyed by the return to fitness of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney's scoring against Estonia, his first competitive goal for England since the Euro 2004 finals, ending a barren run of 16 games.
England's only win in Moscow came when they beat the former Soviet Union 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in June 1973, although they won a friendly 1-0, played in Tbilisi, in 1986.
Probable lineups:
Russia: Vladimir Gabulov; Vasily Berezutsky, Sergei Ignashevich, Alexei Berezutsky, Alexander Anyukov; Yuri Zhirkov, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Konstantin Zyryanov, Igor Semshov; Andrei Arshavin, Alexander Kerzhakov
England: Paul Robinson; Micah Richards, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell or John Terry, Phil Neville; Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard; Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen.
Referee: Luis Medina Cantelejo (Spain)
