Belgium vs Russia Preview

FIFA number one ranked team Belgium will kick off their Euro 2020 campaign when they travel to St Petersburg to face Russia in the first match of Group B this Saturday.

The Red Devils qualified for this stage of the competition in sublime fashion, winning ten of their ten qualifying matches and scoring 40 goals while conceding just three.

In doing so, they became the first team to maintain a 100% record in the Euro qualifying stage and as such are heading into this tournament as one of the favourites.

Roberto Martinez’s men are on a run of 12 wins from their last 16 games heading into this match and are expected to dominate their opponents due to their superior quality.

Although they have had a poor record in past major tournaments, they look well equipped this year to end years of mediocrity on the international stage as they look to pick up their first-ever European Championship trophy.

Russia meanwhile are facing familiar foes as they were in the same group as Belgium in the qualifying round. They finished second in the standings, picking up eight wins and losing only to Belgium in the group while scoring 33 times.

That impressive showing makes it difficult to rule them out of this tournament as they are able to cause an upset against the more established sides.

The hosts head into this tie with three wins from their last five games and with one loss in that period.

They will fancy their chances against their opponents but have a poor head-to-head record versus their opponents. In six tries they have failed to win against the Belgians, losing five times and conceding 16 times.