Friday Nations League tips: Belgium, Finland and Austria feature
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Tips and look-ahead for tonight’s UNL action
The Nations League action continues apace tonight, and there’s a Big Match Breakdown for Croatia v England on its way.
But there are plenty more intriguing continental clashes on the horizon, and the Coral News Team have picked out their top tips on five of the evening’s big games…
The Finns are flying at the top of their group after two games, winning both and chalking up a pair of clean sheets.
Markku Kanerva’s men make the short hop to Tallinn for tonight’s game, to face an Estonia side they’ve beaten in four of the previous five meetings.
Speaking of Estonia, they’re in terrible form at present. They’ve lost five of their last six matches, including defeats to Latvia and Georgia. This should be straightforward stuff for a Finland side which boasts in-form striker Teemu Pukki.
One of the most memorable – and for England fans, heartbreaking – games of the World Cup, this one finished 1-1 in normal time before Croatia eventually triumphed.
The signs point to both sides netting again in Zagreb. England have netted in 11 of their last 13 matches, while six of Croatia’s last seven have seen both sides register.
After a pummelling by Spain in their last game, the hosts will be desperate to bounce back. But that heavy defeat reinforced how easily they can be exposed at the back.
Few sides have had much of a sniff against Belgium in recent times. Roberto Martinez’s side grabbed third place at last summer’s World Cup, and have now won 10 of their last 11 matches. In fact, they’ve lost just once in 28 games.
Tonight’s Nations League visitors Switzerland aren’t a bad side, but were comfortably dispatched by Sweden in the World Cup Round of 16.
Factor in Belgium’s impressive 2016 win in Switzerland last time the sides met, and this should be fairly straightforward for De Rode Duivels.
While they’re pretty good on home soil, Northern Ireland just don’t travel well. They’ve failed to score in each of their last four away games, slumping to a 3-0 loss against Costa Rica in their most recent trip abroad.
They visit an Austria side enjoying something of a resurgence. Das Team beat Germany 2-1 in the lead up to the World Cup, and have also enjoyed recent wins to nil in friendly clashes with Russia and Sweden.
Once minnows of the European game, Luxembourg are now genuine contenders to reach Euro 2020.
They’ve won each of their first two Nations League games, including a 4-0 mauling of Moldova. However, the basis of their success under boss Luc Holtz is defensive strength. Luxembourg have managed five clean sheets in their last six fixtures.
Tonight’s opponents Belarus have home advantage on their side – but not much else. They’ve won just one of their last four matches, and could find Luxembourg hard to handle.
Click here for Coral’s latest UEFA Nations League odds.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
