Russia head coach Valery Karpin is expected to make serious changes to his line-up for Tuesday’s friendly against the Super Eagles, with his squad set to be rotated after the match against Namibia, according to Football Intel Africa.

Karpin has described Nigeria as one of the toughest opponents Russia will face during the October international window. Speaking after Russia’s 2-0 win over Iran, he said the Super Eagles would pose a similar challenge.

“Against Nigeria, it’ll be pretty much the same as yesterday. It won’t be easy for us. I think we’ll have some major changes in our lineup. It might be even tougher for the Russian team than against Iran,” he said, as quoted by Euro Football.

The coach had earlier spoken to the Russian Football Union after naming his squad for the friendlies against Iran, Nigeria and Namibia. He pointed to the FIFA rankings as proof of the quality of the two sides.

“Two worthy, strong opponents: Iran and Nigeria. Just look at the FIFA rankings. These teams are among the top 30. There’s no need to talk about them much. We’ve all seen them,” Karpin said.

Both teams rank higher than Russia, and Karpin said his players were eager to measure themselves against them.

“This will be our third game against Iran in a while, and our second against Nigeria. The level of these teams is clear. We’re interested to see how we compare against such opponents,” he added.

Russia face Namibia on October 3 before taking on Nigeria on October 6 at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. Karpin acknowledged that Namibia would offer a different kind of test but warned his players against underestimating them.

The Super Eagles arrive for the friendly after a mixed start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. They beat Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo before losing 3-0 to Guinea-Bissau in Bissau, which leaves them second in Group L with three points. The match gives Nigeria’s technical team the chance to assess squad depth and try new combinations before the next round of qualifiers.

The sides last met in Moscow 16 months ago, when Tolu Arokodare cancelled out a Semi Ajayi own goal to earn a 1-1 draw for Nigeria.