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Belgium v France
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Kick Off: Monday 14th October at 19:45
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Competition: UEFA Nations League
France will seek to make it five successive victories over Belgium when the neighbouring countries face off in Brussels in Nations League action on Monday.
Les Bleus come into this encounter after beating Israel 4-1 in Hungary, but the margin of victory hides how pedestrian Didier Deschamps’ side were for much of that encounter. Belgium, meanwhile, kept their hopes of qualification for the quarter-finals of the Nations League alive as they came from two down to draw 2-2 away to Italy.
⭐ Belgium v France Best Bets
Doku is a fearless ball carrier and his dribbling style acts as a magnet for fouls. This is illustrated by the fact that he has already picked up ten fouls across his three Nations League appearances, which is joint third among all players who have been involved in this edition of the tournament.
Doku has been fouled at least three times in each of his last five international starts, two of which have come against France.
🔍 Belgium v France Players to Watch
🔵 Jules Kounde
Barcelona right-back Jules Kounde is a huge price to commit at least one foul on Monday given that he is liable to square up against livewire winger Jeremy Doku. The Manchester City man has picked up 10 fouls already in the three Nations League matches that he has played, doing so at the rate of 3.7 per 90.
Kounde struggled to contain the wide man when these sides clashed last month in Lyon and gave up two fouls on that occasion. He also gave up two fouls in the Euro 2024 round-of-16 clash between these nations, when he was also up against Doku.
🔵 Bradley Barcola
Having come off the bench on Thursday, Barcola can well be expected to start this clash, with PSG winger liable to be a significant threat in front of goal.
Although he has twice been a substitute, Barcola has had a shot on target in each of France’s three Nations League games in this edition, scoring twice. The former Lyon star also has at least one shot on target in three of his last four matches for club and county.
🔴 Orel Mangala
Given Mangala is coming off a match in which he had three attempts at goal, the price of the Everton midfielder to simply try his luck once is very long. He is not, admittedly, a player noted for his goal threat, but Belgium are looking to non-traditional threats with Lukaku and De Bruyne missing.
Mangala stands fourth among Belgium’s players in the Nations League for shots per 90 among those who have played at least 90 minutes.
📂 Belgium v France Cheat Sheet
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💻 Belgium v France Form and Tactics
Belgium come into this clash without two of their most recognised stars in the form of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, leaving head coach Domenico Tedesco with a headache.
Lois Openda is liable to lead a 4-2-3-1 system, with Charles De Ketelaere tucking in behind the RB Leipzig striker in the No.10 role. The latter struggled to have an impact against the Azzurri and was hauled off midway through the second half, prompting Leandro Trossard to move more centrally, where he could well remain for this match.
Curiously, Orel Mangala led Belgium with three shots against Italy, while left-back Maxim De Cuyper had two shots, scoring with his one effort on target. This menace from unusual areas came as something of a surprise. De Bruyne, with two goals, nine shots and four on target, is the team leader in each of those categories, hence his absence weighs heavily. Openda may have eight shots (three on target), but he is yet to score.
Youri Tielemans will look to make his impact weigh more heavily as stand-in captain. He has five shots and three on target in the Nations League but did not manage a single one of these in the last meeting with France, which ended 2-0 to Les Bleus.
France are also in a state of flux, with Kylian Mbappe absent and Antoine Griezmann having retired. Although they beat Israel 4-1 on Thursday, they generated only 1.32xG, with strikes from Matteo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola arriving in the last three minutes.
Deschamps has the luxury of a deep squad and will likely rotate. Guendouzi’s fine cameo could see him earn more minutes in a more advanced midfield role than he typically earns, making him one to watch in the Shots Market.
Also lively off the bench was Barcola, who is posting 1.33 goals per 90 so far in the Nations League in addition to 4.67 shots and 2.0 shots on target. He should start and is liable to play a big role. France carry a threat from all over the field though; eight of 13 players who featured for more than five minutes away to Israel had a shot.
Meanwhile, look for Les Bleus to be solid through the middle. Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga both got their first Nations League starts for this addition and combined for six fouls, with the former picking up four of these.
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🏁 Belgium v France Ref Watch
- Referee: Irfan Peljto
- Has awarded 24 yellow cards in 5 matches this season (4.8 per game)
- Has awarded 1 red card in 5 matches this season (0.2 per game)
- Has awarded 2 penalties in 5 matches this season (0.4 per game)
Football Predictions at Andy’s Bet Club
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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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