After securing a ticket for the UEFA EURO 2020, Russia will be hosting Belgium at the St. Petersburg Krestovsky stadium. The match is scheduled for 16th November 17:00 GMT at a sold out St. Petersburg stadium.
Russia secured their place at the Euro Qualifiers following a 5-0 thrashing of Cyprus. Racked in Group I, the Russian team racked up 21 points in 8 matches 3 points clear of group leaders, the Belgians.
Belgium has shown consistency since their semifinal exit from the World Cup 2018. The Belgian side are currently on top of Group I with 24 points from 8 matches and not losing a single game. The diversity in team with a mixture of experienced and youth has seen the spectacular performance.
Russia will be heading into the game as the underdogs. With home ground advantage, Russia will be looking to overturn the 3-1 defeat during the qualifying round of Group I by the Belgian side.
Russia vs. Belgium Head to Head
Both teams have played 4 matches together with Belgium emerging winners on 3 occasions and one game ending in a draw. Russia are yet to register a win over the Belgian side. Here is a look at the two sides past match results:
Belgium 3-1 Russia
Russia 3-3 Belgium
Belgium 1-0 Russia
Russia 2-0 Belgium
Russia Team News
Forward Artem Dzyuba holds the record for top Russian scorer in the competition after netting 9 goals in 8 appearances. The talisman played an important role in booking a ticket for Russia in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Team Coach Stanislav Cherchesov is likely to partner the forward with Fedor Chalov after netting 2 goals in just 2 appearances. Midfielder Denis Cherysev proved to be a man to count on during the qualifying rounds netting 5 goals in all his 5 appearances. Youngster Aleksandr Sobolev is yet to feature in any match despite the call up.
Belgium Teams News
Team Coach Roberto Martinez will be looking forward for the prowess of in-form Inter talisman Lukaku. He has shown his resurgence in the Serie A garnering 9 goals. Lukaku netted his 50th International goal which saw the side become the first qualifier to the Euro 2020.
An addition to the defense was the surprise call-up of Anderletch left back Elias Cobbaut. The 21 year old defender makes the first team squad as replacement for veteran Jon Vertonghen with 118 caps for the International suffering an injury.
Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard despite a low season in the La Liga will be up for selection for the clash. Winger Maxime Lestienee after being called for the first time in six years will still be sideline after picking up an injury.
Prediction and Odds
This will be a low scoring game given the toughness from both sides. However, Belgium are bound to secure another win having no witnessed any defeat in the Euro 2020 Qualifiers.
Belgium win – 2.05
Goals Under 2.5 – 2.08
Team Belgium to Win at Least One Half (Yes) – 1.54
Romelu Lukaku to Score at Any Time – 2.15
