Belgium vs Russia Prediction & Betting Tips - Euro

Prediction published on 09/06/2021, 15:27  by Nella Wagah | Modified on 10/06/2021 at 14:45 in Euro Predictions

A strong start to Euro 2020 is what both Belgium and Russia will be targeting when they face off in their Group B opener on Saturday. The two nations happened to be in the same group during the qualification process and Russia finished second to Belgium who bagged 30 points from 10 matches, with Russia earning six lesser. Belgium go to this tournament still ranked top of the world and will be hoping to build on their run towards this competition. They beat Croatia 1-0 in their final warm up game and had a great defensive organization which they’ll hope continues in this tournament. Belgium conceded the fewest goals in the qualifiers (3), and showed they can have that edge in defence as they do in attack. They have assembled one of the best sides in Europe at the moment though the inclusion of veteran defender Thomas Vermaelen has continuously been questioned. They are unbeaten in nine matches, winning seven, while just two of their last five have produced over 2.5 goals and both sides have scored in seven of Belgium’s last 10 matches.

Inconsistency has laced Russia’s matches lately but they wrapped up their warm up matches in preparation for the Euros with a 1-0 win over Bulgaria. That marked the first game in seven that Russia have kept a clean sheet and they have just three wins in their last 11 matches. The fact that they will be playing on home soil should be inspiring enough for Russia but Belgium will be tougher than the matches they’ve played recently. Russia lost to Slovakia then drew with Poland before beating Bulgaria. More positively, they’ve scored in each of their last five matches and will hope to breach a Belgium defence that hasn’t been really firm in recent times. This will be like a home game for the Russians and holding a four-game unbeaten run at home may be a good starter to their tournament. One thing that may weigh down Russia is the fact that they aren’t very sharp in attack. Artem Dzyuba has proven inability to headline the attack and seemingly prefers more playing as a supporting striker. He has three goals in the last five matches but hasn’t scored in the last three games and Russia haven’t managed more than a goal in those three games. At home Russia have managed more than a goal in one of the last five, though they’ve also conceded more than a goal in one of the last five home matches.