Algeria midfielder Abdelmoumene Djabou has claimed that Russia will be dangerous when the two teams meet at the World Cup on Thursday.
The Algerians will join Group H leaders Belgium in the second round if they earn a draw, but a defeat would send Russia through to the last 16.
While Djabou expects the Russians to come out fighting, the 27-year-old hopes that his team can get the result that they need to qualify.
"It's going to be a very difficult match as the Russians absolutely have to win if they want to qualify for the next round," he told FIFA.com.
"I hope it's our day and that we'll rise to the challenge. Russia will take the initiative to come at us. We'll have to be wary because they have some great players. We'll try to surprise them."
Algeria have failed to get beyond the group stage in all three of their previous World Cup appearances.
No Data Analysis info
Netherlands
Senegal
Ecuador
Qatar
England
USA
Iran
Wales
Argentina
Poland
Mexico
Saudi Arabia
France
Australia
Tunisia
Denmark
Japan
Spain
Germany
Costa Rica
Morocco
Croatia
Belgium
Canada
Brazil
Switzerland
Cameroon
Serbia
Portugal
South Korea
Uruguay
Ghana