Russia can unlock the most dangerous weapon from its arsenal when playmaker Andrei Arshavin returns from suspension to face Sweden in their decisive Euro 2008 Group D match on Wednesday. Russia needs to win at the Tivoli-Neu stadium in Innsbruck to book a quarterfinal spot, while a draw would do for Sweden. Arshavin, widely considered Russia's top player, sat out their first two matches – a 4-1 defeat by Spain and a 1-0 win over Greece – and is expected to now take charge of the attack. “Arshavin is a footballer who can make something out of nothing,” the daily Sport Express quoted coach Guus Hiddink as saying. “He can score from anywhere. It's very useful for our team.” Despite the praise, Hiddink has hinted that 27-year-old Arshavin may not get an automatic place in the lineup. “I don't know whether he (Arshavin) will play or not,” Russian media quoted the Dutchman as saying. “The last match he took part in was a friendly against Lithuania (on June 4). Up until then he had not played much, therefore he may not be in good enough condition to play a whole 90 minutes. We will see.” Assuming he does start, Arshavin would probably play slightly behind striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Hiddink would have to drop a midfielder, possibly Diniyar Bilyaletdinov who looked tired against Greece and picked up a slight knock. Hiddink added that Sweden was the definite favorite and he expected it to play to win. Sweden coach Lars Lagerback is likely to make just one change from the side beaten 2-1 by Spain with Niclas Alexandersson returning at fullback after recovering from a thigh strain in place of Fredrik Stoor. Johan Elmander should start on the right side of midfield despite a niggling foot injury. Sweden, dominated by 30-somethings, struggled in the latter part of both its games, so Lagerback will need to choose his substitutions carefully. – Reuters __
