Belgium v Russia Predictions & Betting Odds – World Cup 2014

Red Devils strong enough to put Russia in danger

Belgium v Russia
Belgium v Russia

Belgium v Russia World Cup 2014, 22nd June Betting Preview

Well this one was pencilled in ahead of the tournament as being the decider for top spot in Group H. However, with Russia’s failure to beat South Korea, the pressure is on Fabio Capello’s men. They could be floundering if they lose this one against the Red Devils, and South Korea beat Algeria as expected. Belgium will be looking for a better overall performance after their less than impressive 2-1 win over Algeria in their opening match. They’ll take a big stride towards top spot if they get the three points here.

Belgium v Russia Betting Tips

Belgium are running as favourites here and they are unbeaten against Russia (not counting Soviet Union matches) from three previous encounters. Belgium have posted a W2 D1 record in those three matches against Russia. They have met once before at the World Cup, back in the 2002 edition, the last time that Belgium was at the World Cup finals. It was a winner by current coach Marc Wilmots who secured a 3-2 win for the Red Devils in that one. They didn’t look quite able to find their top gear in their opening match against Algeria, looking a bit laboured until Marouane Fellaini came off the bench to rescue them. There should be better to come from them.

The last time they met, which was in a friendly back in November 2010, Romelu Lukaku was on the scoresheet twice in a win for Belgium. He is up as even money favourite in the anytime goalscorer market, although against Algeria, he didn’t touch the ball once inside the opposition’s penalty area during his 60 minutes played. Still, he’ll get plenty of backing to net against the Russians, and Eden Hazard is a 6/4 shot in the market. One thing that Belgium did do well against Algeria was maintain possession, which they should also dominate against Russia. Incidentally, keeper Thibaut Courtois has not lost an international match from eighteen appearances. Impressive.

The Russians were a bit of a let down in their opener. You could tell that it was a Fabio Capello team, because they looked cautious, flat and devoid of creativity. They had to come from behind in the game, being rescued by sub Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Russia’s joint top-scorer of all time, Kerzhakov is up as a 2/1 shot in the anytime goalscorer market against Belgium. Youngster Aleksandr Kokorin at 3/1. Russia didn’t look very impressive against South Korea, outworked and liable to be caught out on the break. While Russia are unbeaten in their last six, they don’t look likely to get much more than a draw on the board, and this will probably be low scoring under 2.5 goals.

Belgium v Russia Betting Odds

Belgium 10/11, Draw 5/2, Russia 3/1

Pick your own refund trigger in the game at online betting site Betfair. You can chose from the match ending 0-0, Eden Hazard scoring first, the team that scores first loses, Belgium leading 2-1 at anytime or Romelu Lukaku scoring first and if your trigger gets activated in the match, you will get a lost stake refund up to £25 as a free bet on the Correct Score, Scorecast, Anytime Goalscorer or First Goalscorer markets. Head over to Betfair to take advantage of this great promotion.

Belgium v Russia Predictions

You didn’t see much from Russia to really threaten a deep run in the competition. Belgium are favourites here and they have the quality and depth in their ranks to deliver on the 10/11 supremacy in the match outrights. Russia don’t show a lot of adventure and will probably sit deep, forcing the game to be a low scoring affair.