Spain vs Russia live stream: Watch Fifa World Cup 2018 Round of 16 match on TV, online

Backed by a passionate home crowd, Russia will be hoping to stun favourites Spain when the two sides meet at Luzhniki Stadium today. Live stream information and start time here.

Hosts Russia take on Spain in the third Round of 16 tie of Fifa World Cup 2018 in Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow on Sunday, July 1.

When does the match start and how to watch it live

Russia vs Spain will start at 5 pm local time, 7:30 pm IST and 3 pm BST.

Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony ESPN will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Sony Liv.

Can Spain escape an upset?

Spain at Fifa World Cup 2018 — Diego Costa needs to deliver if Spain are to shine today.LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images

Spain hasn't been at its dominant best in Russia. After eleventh hour drama that saw former coach Julen Lopetegui being sacked, the La Roja, under Fernando Hierro, managed to avoid an early exit and even scraped through to the top of Group B table.

However, the 2010 champions have managed only one win so far in the tournament. After being held to a draw in a six-goal thriller in their opening match, Spain managed to beat Iran 1-0 before finishing their round-robin campaign with a disappointing draw against Morocco.

At the other end, concerns remain about their backline despite the presence of two of the best central defenders in Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique. Spain has conceded five times so far in the World Cup and goalkeeper David de Gea has conceded them from just six shots on target.

Stanislav Cheryshev: We know how Spain play

Aleksandr Golovin Denis Cheryshev Russia — Aleksandr Golovin and Denis Cheryshev were brilliant for Russia in the Round Robin stage.Kevin C Cox/Getty Images

Spain cannot afford defensive errors as Russia hasn't been shy of scoring goals. They demolished Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the World Cup opener at the same venue and went on to hand a 3-1 thrashing to Egypt, who were unimpressive in Russia.

The likes of Denis Cheryshev, Alexander Golovin, and Artem Dzyuba have been extremely impressive and the onus will be on them to trouble the Spanish backline.

Fedor Smolov may also come into play at some point of today's tie, given he had scored a double when Spain were held by Russia to 3-3 draw in an international friendly last year at St. Petersburg.

Russian coach Stanislav Cheryshev expressed confidence about his team's chances ahead of the big tie, saying:

We know how Spain play, It's hard to counter, but we're going to try. We played against Julen Lopetegui's team and we are seeing changes under Hierro. I won't go into specifics, but the team is playing a little differently."

Russia needs to put behind the 3-0 drubbing they received at the hands of Uruguay in their final round robin match and start afresh.

On the other hand, Spain, who will be playing their first World Cup knockout match since 2010 final, will be hoping their big guns deliver on the big day.