Russia are top of their group despite only having played four games, due to Fabio Capello's side having a 100 percent win record in their campaign so far. That leaves Portugal competing with Israel for second place, and a defeat or even a draw here would be a huge boost to the Israelis.
Paulo Bento will have to make do without Pepe due to the center-back's suspension, but will have Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Nani available for selection.
Capello seemed confident about his chances when asked, saying: "We already proved that we're able to overcome Portugal. On Friday we expect an even more difficult match than we played in Moscow but our desire to win is even stronger.
"We have a great chance to solve all the problems and we are set to convert this chance into reality."
With Russia having two games in hand on Portugal, they have little to fear from a defeat here, even though it could temporarily move them out of the qualification places.
Match Date\Time: 8:45 p.m. local, 3:45 p.m. ET
