Scotland vs Belgium
As a country which prides itself in fighting against the odds and thriving as an underdog, Scotland has a chance to show its bravery on Monday night against the best team in the world.
One of the big favourites for Euro 2020 and sure to feature in the SBOBET tips next summer, Belgium heads to Hampden Park on Monday night local time, to take on Steve Clarke’s Scotland in a Group I clash which could see the Red Devils all but confirm their ticket to the finals in 2020.
With five wins from five Roberto Martinez’ team is in imperious form in a group in which it is head and shoulders above the rest. Only Russia is still in touch with the Red Devils, after beating Scotland at Hampden on Friday, where John McGinn’s first international goal had given the hosts a lead. It only gets tougher for the Scots as they try to keep their slim chances of qualification alive and a win against Belgium would be a minor miracle.
Talking Points
World Class Robertson
This weekend’s Euro 2020 results haven’t been kind to the Scots and skipper Andy Robertson says his team must get a result against Belgium: “It doesn’t matter how far we are behind Belgium,” he says, “they were always going to win this group comfortably. The worrying thing is how far we are behind Russia. They are now six points clear and that is going to be hard to get back.
“There is no option but to get a result and if we don’t get one on Monday, I think it will be verging on impossible to get through this group.”
Robertson knows Belgium is a big step up from Russia and having lost that game, getting a point against Martinez’ men will be a huge ask. But he is the one player in Scotland’s ranks who could probably get into the Belgium team so he needs to lead from the front.
Since his transfer from Hull City to Liverpool Robertson has quickly become one of the European Champions’ best players as a speedy wing back with great positional sense and a wicked cross which provided numerous assists for Jurgen Klopp’s team last season.
The captain is the man to look to if we are to find any encouragement for the hosts in our pre-match Scotland vs Belgium betting tips.
Belgium’s Riches
In contrast to their hosts, the Red Devils have an abundance of talent in their squad and the conveyor belt shows no sign of slowing up. The Golden Generation is still top of the FIFA rankings despite not yet winning a major trophy and there’ll be plenty of support for their case is 2020. A 0-4 win over San Marino moved Belgium eight points clear of third place in Group I, thanks to goals from Dries Mertens and Nacer Chadli and a brace from Michy Batshuayi. The Chelsea striker has shown promise for a couple of years but, with greater responsibility at Stamford Bridge, he seems to be stepping up a gear or two.
That put him on three goals in the competition, alongside Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku. Hazard put in a man of the match performance when Belgium brushed aside Russia with a 3-1 win, but he is unlikely to feature having had an injury-hit start to his career at Real Madrid.
We could well see Kevin De Bruyne though, and that will be enough to strike fear into the Scots, and then there is the emergence of Leicester City’s Youri Tielemens as another attacking midfield threat.
History
The return match in Belgium was Steve Clarke’s second game in charge of Scotland and ended with the Red Devils winning 3-0 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar outcome on Monday.
Roberto Martinez’ Belgium is clear in the head to heads with nine victories to two and one drawn since 1971. Indeed Scotland hasn’t won in four against the Red Devils and Belgium’s five-match winning streak looks ominous alongside Scotland’s back to back defeats.
Betting Tip
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Scotland vs Belgium | Belgium First Half @ 2.06 |
| September 10, 02:45 (GMT+8) |
The Red Devils have been top of the FIFA Rankings for some time now while Scotland sits 47 places lower down, just clinging on to the first page! And at 1.46 to win the visitors look nailed on to make it six wins from six. Scotland is available at odds of 5.40 while the draw is 3.95, but I think a decent alternative bet would be Over 2.50 goals at 2.00.
I just can’t see Scotland holding out for 45 minutes.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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