There is going to be a lot of football action taking place during the next month as Euro 2020 will run from June 11 to July 11. This is the first weekend of tournament and football fans are in for some exciting matches. We are going to focus on two games in this article as we look at Belgium vs. Russia and England vs. Croatia.
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Belgium vs. Russia – Betting Odds and Predictions
Belgium is definitely one of the teams in Euro 2020 that has the X factor to surprise FIFA World Champions France and current Euro champions Portugal and win the Euro championship. Their first challenge will be a game against hosts Russia in St. Petersburg. Belgium have a very talented team and are heavy betting favorites according to Bet365.
The Belgians go in with odds of 1.70 as they are stronger than Russia in both defense and offense. The Russians will have the home advantage and will do their best to try and use it to pull off a surprise win. Their odds of winning are at 5.0 while the odds for this game ending in a draw are 3.80.
Belgium are currently the number one team on the FIFA ranking list as they have been dominant. However, they may not play their best team for their opening game as they have a number of their key players recovering from injury. Captain Eden Hazard may take the field while Kevin de Bruyne is recovering from a facial fracture and will not be rushed back.
Belgium will depend heavily on Romelu Lukaku to score for them and if Russia can neutralize him, they will have a better chance of winning. If Eden Hazard ends up playing along with Lukaku, we expect the scoreline to finish either 2-0 or 2-1 in favour of Belgium.
England vs. Croatia – Betting Odds and Predictions
England should have an easy opening game on their hands as they take on Croatia in London. They are one of the top three teams in the competition that are expected to win Euro 2020 as they certainly have the talent to do so. However, England has tended to falter on the big stake and this is one reason why they will want to start Euro 2020 with a convincing win over Croatia.
England are the favorites with odds of 1.66 while Croatia are the underdogs with odds of 5.50. The odds of this game ending in a stale draw are currently at 3.70. Expect these odds to change as we get closer to this game.
England are most likely going to play a 4-3-3 line-up against Croatia although Southgate might opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation, depending on his starting XI. England have all the big stars in their line-up and anything less than a dominant performance will be a blemish on England.
They will depend heavily on captain Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden. While England are the favorites, we expect Croatia to put up a fight as they do have a couple of great players in Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric.
Do remember that even if you have not placed a pre-match bet on these games, you can always take advantage of live betting or in-play betting to place wagers while the games are in progress. If you are looking for in-play betting options, go ahead and register at the sportsbook below.