Former Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow midfielder Vladimir Bystrov has backed Russia to defeat Nigeria 3-1 in their upcoming international friendly.

 Russia will face the Super Eagles on Tuesday, October 6, at the Sovcombank Arena in Nizhny Novgorod, with kick-off scheduled for 6pm Nigerian time.

 Bystrov was asked to predict the outcome of the match and identify a key incident he expects to occur during the encounter.

 “I think there will be a penalty. These bone-breakers will 100% bring someone down in the penalty area. And the score is 3:1,” Bystrov said on the latest episode of the YouTube show _It's Football, Brother!_, as reported by Championat.

 The former Russia international was subsequently asked to confirm his 3-1 prediction, and he remained firm in his assessment.

 “3-1? Well, yeah,” he added.

 Russia will enter the fixture on the back of a 2-0 victory over Iran in their previous international outing.

 Nigeria, meanwhile, will be looking to respond after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

 The Super Eagles are expected to be without several key players for the encounter but will aim to produce a strong performance against Russia in Nizhny Novgorod.