Retired Nigeria international Sani Kaita believes the absence of Victor Osimhen will be a major blow for the Super Eagles when they face Russia in a friendly scheduled to take place at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Tuesday, October 6.
For the second time in 16 months, the three-time African champions will face Russia in a high-profile friendly, but will do so without several members of manager Éric Chelle's preferred starting lineup.
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen, Atlético Madrid forward Ademola Lookman, Fulham duo Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey, Olympiacos left-back Bruno Onyemaechi, AC Milan star Samuel Chukwueze and Nottingham Forest fullback Ola Aina will miss the trip to Nizhny Novgorod.
While Osimhen is still recovering from a muscle strain, the other players have been excused from the friendly.
Although Kaita insists that the Super Eagles have enough attacking quality to cope with Osimhen's absence, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist has predicted that Russia will emerge victorious in the October 6 friendly.
Speaking to Championat.com, he stated: "As a great admirer of the Russian people and Russian culture, I am very pleased to see that good relations are developing between Nigeria and Russia,
"In Nigeria, they understand that the Russian national team is a serious opponent, and we know how high-quality the Russian team is.
"Of course, Osimhen's absence is a huge loss for our team. However, Nigeria has other high-level players who can replace him, and the coaching staff has a variety of attacking options.
“I’m confident it will be a top-notch match. My prediction for the game is 2-1 for Russia."
Kaita played for three Russian clubs during his career, including Kuban Krasnodar, Lokomotiv Moscow and Alania Vladikavkaz.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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