England vs Belgium predictions: Further friendly frustration for Three Lions
- England have lost three of their last four matches against Belgium
- Belgium are unbeaten in their last 12 fixtures
- Recommended bet: Belgium or draw double chance
England’s Euro 2024 preparations got off to a poor start with Saturday’s 1-0 loss at home to injury-hit Brazil and Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate will be looking for a response when his team take on Belgium at Wembley.
Prior to their toothless loss at the weekend, England had been on a ten-game unbeaten run.
However, they approach the Belgium fixture with the aim of avoiding back-to-back losses in home friendlies for the first time since 2013.
Belgium drew 0-0 away to the Republic of Ireland on Saturday and it could’ve been even worse without the intervention of goalkeeper Matz Sels, who saved a 28th minute penalty from Evan Ferguson.
However, the Red Devils have recovered well since their disappointment at the 2022 World Cup and are aiming to extend their unbeaten sequence to 13 games.
Team news
Kyle Walker (hamstring), Harry Maguire (unspecified injury), Sam Johnstone (elbow), Bukayo Saka (unspecified injury) and Harry Kane (ankle) are ruled out, with Rico Lewis and James Trafford have been called up as replacements.
Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson missed training last week and were not involved in the 1-0 loss to Brazil, but may be ready to play a part.
Ivan Toney is expected to get the nod as the starting centre-forward.
Romelu Lukaku (groin) was absent for Belgium’s 0-0 draw away to Ireland on Saturday but he could come back into contention.
Kevin De Bruyne missed out on squad selection due to a minor injury.
The stats
England have lost only one of their last 11 matches.
Four of England’s last five matches have generated less than three goals, while the Three Lions have conceded first in three of their last four fixtures.
Belgium are unbeaten in their last 12 matches and the Red Devils have won three of their last four fixtures against England.
Prediction
England fell a long way below expectations with Saturday’s disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Brazil and they may struggle to find the right response against Belgium on Saturday.
It is only natural for England to want to atone for a poor performance, but their ability to do so could be hampered by injuries and the desire to hand opportunities to fringe players.
Southgate must balance his desire for a victory with the need to make progress in nailing down his preferred squad for Euro 2024.
Belgium head coach Domenico Tedesco has similar considerations and must devise a strategy without injured talisman Kevin De Bruyne.
However, the Belgians have recovered impressively since their group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup and their 12-game unbeaten run could extend with a positive result at Wembley.
Win up to £250,000 with LiveScore 6!
Win up to £250,000 with LiveScore 6, our free-to-play game!
