I'll tweak lineup for Azerbaijan game: Capello

Moscow - Coach Fabio Capello said on Monday he will tweak the Russian lineup ahead of their World Cup qualifier with Azerbaijan on Tuesday.

Alexander Kerzhakov’s early goal on Friday meant that Russia recorded their first win over Portugal with a 1-0 victory in Moscow and lead Group F by three points with a 100 percent record in three games.

“We will slightly change the lineup for the game,” Capello said without specifying who might be left out.

Recent performances of Azerbaijan illustrated that they are no longer the qualifying whipping boys that they used to be, he added.

“They drew with Israel 1-1 and they were 0-0 away in Portugal until the 64th minute,” he said.

“They deserve respect.”

Azerbaijan eventually lost 0-3 to Portugal and are fifth in the group after two games, above only Luxembourg.

Russia have yet to concede under Capello in a competitive match and have recorded a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland and a 4-0 triumph in Israel as well as the Portugal victory.

As with the Portugal game, Russia will host Azerbaijan on the artificial turf of Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium.