Belgium v Russia Cheat Sheet
Belgium enter the European Championship as one of the favourites to win the whole thing and their “Golden Generation” has tons of hype surrounding it. From Kevin de Bruyne winning the Premier League with Man City to Lukaku winning the Serie A with Inter Milan, it’s fair to say The Red Devils are stacked in most positions.
They’ll be hosting the hosts of the 2018 World Cup Russia who managed to get to the quarter-finals in their last European campaign. Although they’re not all household names, Russia have had a solid squad over the years and this time is no different than the last. Artem Dyzuba will be looking to come Russia’s all time top scorer this campaign, overtaking Kerzhakov who is just one goal ahead of him.
Three Standout Stats
Roman Zobnin is the man that caught my eye whilst putting together this ‘Cheat Sheet’ . He’s currently averaging 1.4 tackles per game and 1.2 fouls per game for Spartak Moscow which has resulted in him picking up 10 bookings in the 20/21 season. As a centre mid he’s always getting involved in the game and against Belgium’s midfield that could definitely end in a yellow card for the midfielder. Belgium’s midfield will contain players such as Kevin de Bruyne and Youri Tielemans who are both comfortable on the ball, if the game starts getting away from Russia, expect him to rush into a few challenges.
Axel Witsel is fairly similar to the aforementioned Roman Zobnin where he’s not afraid of putting in a few challenges. Whilst he’s only registered 7 yellow cards in the 20/21 season, he’s only played 27 games which means he’s averaging a card every 2 and a half games. He’s also joint first for fouls per game in the Belgium squad at 1.1 and with the holding midfield position he’ll be playing, it’s no surprise that he’s so high in this list. Belgium are a team with a lot flair in the side so it’ll be interesting to see if Witsel is left to do the ‘dirty work’ and pick up the tactical fouls and tackles to support Kevin de Bruyne.
Romelu Lukaku is an absolute machine for Belgium, it’s as simple as that. He’s their all time top scorer with 60 goals in 93 games and has been more than prolific for Inter Milan this season with 24 goals and 10 assists in 36 Serie A. It should come as no surprise to see Lukaku averaging the most shots on target per game in the Belgium squad at 1.4 per game this season. You’re currently getting about 11/10 for him to score a goal against Russia which all things considered could be a great bet if you’re expecting Belgium to have an easy time against Russia. Another route to go down could be the shot on target route with Lukaku averaging over 1 a game, 2+ is going to be above even money which might be better value than a goal.
