Finland v Belgium betting tips: Finns hope Belgium drop their guard
Preview and odds for the Group B match
Belgium are already through to the last 16 of the European Championship and can end Group B with a perfect record if they beat Finland in Saint Petersburg.
Finland can still qualify for the knockout stages and will hope Belgium’s quick passage means this is a good time to be playing the world’s number one ranked team.
Monday’s match is live on BBC One and kicks off at 8pm as we highlight a few potential Finland v Belgium betting tips.
Finland v Belgium match odds
Finland had upset Denmark 1-0 in their opening game, in a match overshadowed by Christian Eriksen’s collapse, but were unable to build on that as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Russia.
Atalanta forward Aleksei Miranchuk scored the only goal in first-half stoppage time and although Finland improved in the second half, they failed to seriously trouble Stanislav Cherchesov’s side.
That does not bode well for their chances against Belgium, who cruised to a 3-0 victory against Russia in their opening game but were made to work harder by Denmark on Thursday.
Yussuf Poulsen fired the Danes into an early lead in Copenhagen and Belgium were outplayed until Kevin De Bruyne arrived to light up proceedings.
Playing for the first time since suffering facial fractures during the Champions League final, the Manchester City playmaker set up Thorgan Hazard’s 55th-minute equaliser and then clinched a 2-1 win with a stunning finish 20 minutes from time.
Belgium are 1/3 to make it three wins from three and 20/23 for victory and a second clean sheet while Finland are 5/2 to avoid defeat and 11/1 for a surprise win.
There has been just one goal in each of Finland’s last three matches and another cagey contest would surely suit them, with under 2.5 total goals available at 20/23.
The win against Denmark was their only clean sheet in their last nine matches, though, with the Danes missing a second-half penalty, so keeping Belgium’s prolific attack quiet looks a tall order.
A Belgium win and over 2.5 goals is on offer at 11/10 while Roberto Martinez’s men are 2/1 to win both halves and 17/5 to be ahead after 15 minutes.
Finland v Belgium head-to-head
Belgium reached the World Cup semi-finals three years ago while Finland are appearing at their first major tournament but history suggests there is usually little to separate the two teams.
Finland have a slight edge in the 11 previous meetings with four wins and three defeats while the last two encounters both ended in a 1-1 draw – a score which is 8/1 to be repeated.
The most recent was in June 2016 when Kasper Hamalainen’s second-half goal looked to have won it for Finland but they were denied by Romelu Lukaku’s 89th-minute equaliser.
Previous XI
Finland: Hradecky, Arajuuri, O’Shaughnessy, Toivio, Uronen, Raitala, Kamara, Lod, Schuller, Pukki, Pohjanpalo.
Belgium: Courtois, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Denayer, Tielemans, Carrasco, Mertens, Meunier, T Hazard, Dendoncker, Lukaku.
Key battles
Finland will be hoping to face a weakened Belgium team as they prepare for the knockout stage and Lukaku may be rested but this looks a good opportunity for De Bruyne and Eden Hazard to start as they build up their fitness.
De Bruyne came off the bench at half-time against Denmark while Hazard was introduced just after the hour so Finland’s midfielders will have a tough task protecting the defence.
Teemu Pukki is yet to get off the mark at the Euros having top-scored for Finland in qualifying and will surely need to step up if his team are to get a positive result.
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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
