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De Bruyne is still a crucial player for this Belgium side, despite now being 35. The slower pace of international football suits him really well as he doesn’t have to match the intensity he often did in the Premier League, and now Serie A.

De Bruyne only played 58 minutes against Italy last time out, but that was enough to earn him man of the match. He created five chances, took three shots and set up Belgium’s opener. Two of his three efforts find the target, and this is a nice price for the Napoli man to test the keeper or find the back of the net in this clash.

France didn’t look completely solid at the back against Turkiye last time out despite keeping a clean sheet, they conceded 12 shots and three shots on target which will encourage Belgium - especially after their own really positive display against Italy. 

De Bruyne scored six goals across six starts for Belgium during World Cup qualifying, seeing nine of his 23 efforts find the target (1.72 per 90) from a wider shot average of 4.40 shots per 90.

I’m still far from sold on this Italy project, they’ve turned back to Roberto Mancini to try and inspire the sort of run that led them to the European Championship in his previous tenure - but they have to qualify for an international tournament first.

The rot within the Italian FA is far deeper than just the players not performing. Italy have neglected the youth pathways over recent years and have been left with several young players that haven’t developed as they would have in many other nations.

That said, Mancini has picked a very young squad for this international break which creates a different issue as Italy are almost trying to force the development of these young players all at once - without a set culture or direction like we see with Spain as the best example.

Türkiye underperformed at the World Cup (again) but still showed enough to convince me to back them to score here. They registered an xG of 6.60 across their three matches, scoring three goals in their final game against USA.

Türkiye scored 17 goals across six games during qualifying, including netting twice on the road against Spain.

Northern Ireland were pretty fortunate to keep Georgia out in their opening game of the Nations League, conceding an xG of 1.71 and relying on Pierce Charles to have a man of the match performance - making four saves and stopping a penalty.

Hungary can consider themselves pretty unlucky too, having lost their opening game against Ukraine despite dominating the underlying numbers. Hungary took 17 shots, generating an xG of 2.03 and had 33 touches in the opposition box, as well as four efforts on target. 

Those dropped points in their opening game against Ukraine could prove costly as this group looks quite competitive on paper with Georgia also without any points following the opening game. I expect a reaction from Hungary here, and I’d be very surprised if Charles can replicate his display against Georgia.

I was really impressed with Belgium against Italy last time out, they were comfortably the better side and ran out 2-0 winners, taking 19 shots which generated an xG of 2.76.

They weren’t totally settled at the back though, allowing Italy to take 21 shots and generate an xG of 1.70 themselves without getting on the scoresheet. Mark van Bommel is willing to be quite bold with his set up, with the wide areas looking particularly promising.

France also got off to a winning start in the Nations League with a 1-0 win over Turkiye as the away side. Again, they allowed their opponents to have quite a few decent chances with 12 shots and an xG against of 1.21. 

I think we see both sides have opportunities in the final third under their new managers here, neither look completely set at the back in these early stages which should see goals at both ends.

Sweden will know how important this competition is after qualifying for the World Cup through the Nations League, despite a disastrous qualifying campaign.

That qualifying run was right at the start of Potter’s tenure as Sweden coach, and they have improved since then with their opening game of the Nations League seeing them come away 2-1 winners over Romania.

Poland were disappointing in their opener against Bosnia, failing to score as the away side earned a point through a 0-0 draw. Their underlying numbers were a bit worrying as well, generating an xG of just 0.73 from 14 shots and only creating one big chance.

Sweden beat Poland 3-2 in the final stage of qualifying to reach the World Cup, that clash was as recently as March - giving us a good base to go off for how this game will play out.

These were two of the most exciting nations at the World Cup and I can see a high scoring game between the two here with both having new managers.

France saw 3+ goals in five of their eight matches at the World Cup, bowing out at the semi final stage to eventual winners Spain. No side registered a higher xG than France at the World Cup (17.5), though admittedly this was slightly inflated by their crazy 6-4 defeat to England in the third placed playoff game.

However, Belgium can also contribute to a high scoring encounter having also impressed at the World Cup, to the surprise of some, seeing 3+ goals in four of their six matches at the World Cup with three of these games being knockout matches.

Furthermore, Belgium were the only side throughout the World Cup who managed to breach the backline of Spain - which shouldn’t be overlooked, they’ve got the attacking quality to cause some of these elite nations issues.

These sides met in the most recent Nations League campaign back in 2024, with that game seeing exactly three goals as France ran out 2-1 winners over Belgium as the away side with a combined xG of 4.18 on that occasion. 

I’m still far from sold on this Italy project, they’ve turned back to Roberto Mancini to try and inspire the sort of run that led them to the European Championship in his previous tenure - but they have to qualify for an international tournament first.

The rot within the Italian FA is far deeper than just the players not performing. Italy have neglected the youth pathways over recent years and have been left with several young players that haven’t developed as they would have in many other nations.

That said, Mancini has picked a very young squad for this international break which creates a different issue as Italy are almost trying to force the development of these young players all at once - without a set culture or direction like we see with Spain as the best example.

Türkiye underperformed at the World Cup (again) but still showed enough to convince me to back them to score here. They registered an xG of 6.60 across their three matches, scoring three goals in their final game against USA.

Türkiye scored 17 goals across six games during qualifying, including netting twice on the road against Spain.

Price is NI’s outlet in the final third, he has the best dribbling ability in the team and, in what was a rearguard action for extended periods, he still had three shots in their 1-0 win in Georgia last time out.

All three of those shots came from outside the box, he’s not fussy.

NI should impose themselves more on the game on their home patch, which should bring Price into the game even more, considering they had just 38% possession in Georgia.

Price averages well over two shots per game for West Brom, and will be spurred by the occasion as NI look to make it six points out of six.

Armenia are the only side Hungary’ve beaten in competitive football since 2024, and Northern Ireland have only lost once at home since October 2023, and that was a competitive 1-0 defeat to Germany.

Hungary were really disappointing in World Cup qualifying last year, with Republic of Ireland securing a spot in the play-offs over them, and they fluffed their lines in a 1-0 defeat at home to Ukraine to begin this Nations League campaign.

They mustered only three shots on target in the second half, going into the break 1-0 down, with Ukraine content containing them.

The Man United academy product has come on leaps and bounds in the last few seasons, and he averaged 1.65 shots per 90 in the Championship last season.

Yet to score for NI, but with a case to take attacking set pieces and a growing role in the attacking third, Hungary will do well to keep him quiet.

He has had at least one shot in four of his last five competitive games for NI and had one from range after 32 minutes against Georgia.

He’s part of a really exciting midfield pairing, with Shea Charles, and the latter is the more physical aggressor allowing Galbraith to find space and affect the game more when he’s on the ball, while he also doesn’t shy away from his out-of-possession duties.

Milos Kerkez is a key attacking outlet for Hungary and he has been fouled in eight of his last nine competitive appearances for his country.

He was fouled four times in Hungary’s 3-2 loss to Republic of Ireland, their second-to-last competitive game.

NI committed 14 fouls in Georgia, and Hungary won 19 against Ukraine, if those sorts of numbers are posted again then it is very unlikely that at least one of them doesn’t land on Kerkez.

He’ll find duels with Trai Hume down that side of the pitch, the Sunderland utility man is known for his tackling, and Ben Atcheson played on the right of a back three in Georgia - he’s committed 1.07 fouls per 90 in the Championship this season for Blackburn.

Ross Smith enters this tournament having just won the World Series Finals in impressive fashion, beating Rock, Van Veen and Price in the final three rounds to lift the trophy.

Smith maintained a checkout percentage in excess of 40% in all five of his matches, which is really positive for this format as it is double in double out. 

The outer ring has probably been the area that has let Smith down over recent years as he is a really heavy scorer, but he has improved that side of his game this year. 

Cam Menzies has also had a promising year, but i’m not sold on him in this format. These two actually played at the Matchplay earlier this year in a game that had to see Smith given the victory after Menzies couldn’t continue due to health reasons.

Even prior to that walkover, Smith had won each of the three meetings between the pair this year - and I expect that dominance to continue even in this format with how Smith is playing right now. 

This is the closest game of the night for me and I can see it going all the way, with Doets emerging as a really consistent player who is looking to break into the top 20 - currently ranked 27th in the world.

Aspinall has a lot to prove, being left out of the Premier League was a real kick in the teeth for a player who probably deserved the call up if you look at his performances over the course of last year. 

He’s been determined this year too, unfortunately he has ran into Littler in each of the last two major tournaments - narrowly losing to the World number one in both games. Aspinall was knocked out in the first round of the Grand Prix last year, losing 2-0 in sets to Luke Humphries.

This will be Doets’ debut in the World Grand Prix, but I don’t expect that to affect him too much. I think he can take Aspinall all the way to a deciding set, it’s the tightest game of the night based on odds (1.80-2.00) and we should see that play out in the contest.

I love Clayton in this competition, he won it in 2021 and had a good run last year as well - only dropping one set until he crashed out to Luke Littler in the semi final, who of course went on to win the tournament.

Clayton has a strong recent record against the Polish Eagle, winning each of the last three head to head meetings between the pair. I like Ratajaski, but he’s never been past the quarter final stage of this competition, which he last reached in 2021. 

Ratajaski is a solid 94/95 average player, but this format doesn’t allow him to show his best side. It can take him quite a while to get away from the outer ring, which is where he has failed in this competition in recent years. 

The format suits Clayton, he’s incredibly efficient on tops and that will get him away on most occasions within his first visit to the board. He’ll take confidence from his run in this competition last year, and the fact that Ratajski is heading to a tournament he already doesn’t like having lost each of his last four matches. 

These two faced off in the first round of the World Grand Prix last year with Cross narrowly edging out the Dutchman, winning 2-1 in sets with barely anything to split the two in terms of averages (81.73-84.60).

It was Cross’ superior finishing on that occasion which earned him a win against the talented 26 year old, who has improved when under pressure - which was a real issue for him on the big stages last year. 

Nijman’s height is a real factor here with the double start format, he’s so good on double 18 - as is Rob Cross - and should be able to get started quickly in legs which will give him a real advantage as he has outscored Cross for the majority of this year - also hitting three 180s in this contest when the pair met in the Matchplay last year. 

Outside of that defeat in the Grand Prix last year, Nijman has a pretty good record against Cross in winning three of the four head to head clashes. This includes an 8-3 win over Cross in a Euro Tour final where Nijman averaged in excess of 100 and checked out at 50%. 

I love Clayton in this competition, he won it in 2021 and had a good run last year as well - only dropping one set until he crashed out to Luke Littler in the semi final, who of course went on to win the tournament.

Clayton has a strong recent record against the Polish Eagle, winning each of the last three head to head meetings between the pair. I like Ratajaski, but he’s never been past the quarter final stage of this competition, which he last reached in 2021. 

Ratajaski is a solid 94/95 average player, but this format doesn’t allow him to show his best side. It can take him quite a while to get away from the outer ring, which is where he has failed in this competition in recent years. 

The format suits Clayton, he’s incredibly efficient on tops and that will get him away on most occasions within his first visit to the board. He’ll take confidence from his run in this competition last year, and the fact that Ratajski is heading to a tournament he already doesn’t like having lost each of his last four matches. 

Ross Smith enters this tournament having just won the World Series Finals in impressive fashion, beating Rock, Van Veen and Price in the final three rounds to lift the trophy.

Smith maintained a checkout percentage in excess of 40% in all five of his matches, which is really positive for this format as it is double in double out. 

The outer ring has probably been the area that has let Smith down over recent years as he is a really heavy scorer, but he has improved that side of his game this year. 

Cam Menzies has also had a promising year, but i’m not sold on him in this format. These two actually played at the Matchplay earlier this year in a game that had to see Smith given the victory after Menzies couldn’t continue due to health reasons.

Even prior to that walkover, Smith had won each of the three meetings between the pair this year - and I expect that dominance to continue even in this format with how Smith is playing right now. 

Kane missed a golden opportunity to score his 87th goal for England against Spain last time out, seeing his penalty come back off the crossbar after slipping in the run up.

Kane did manage to get on the scoresheet against the World Champions, heading home from a really good delivery from Nico O’Reilly. He had three shots in total, and really should have found the target twice when factoring in that penalty miss.

It’s also worth noting that Kane’s performance last time out was against the best defensive nation in the world, and he will get more time and space here to find the target on at least two occasions.

Kane scored eight goals across eight starts for England during qualifying, taking 31 shots across these games (4.10 per 90) and seeing 16 of them find the target (2.11 per 90).

He’s incredibly consistent against this level of opposition, also averaging 2.33 shots on target per 90 when England were last in the Nations League. 

Guehi and Konsa were harassed by Spain’s frontline last time out, with both centre backs being fouled at least once.

I think they will have to contest quite a lot of duels here, not due to the intensity of Czechia’s press which isn’t nearly as effective as Spain’s, but due to how direct this Czechia side will be.

They played 22 long balls against Croatia last time out, often aiming for Hlozek who contested eight duels in the game. Hlozek has committed five fouls across four starts domestically already this season (1.67 per 90), and is likely to lose out in 1v1 battles with Konsa and Guehi.

Konsa is a bit shorter to be fouled here (1.25), which is why I’m opting for Guehi as they have quite similar underlying numbers despite the slight price difference.

Guehi has won five fouls across his five starts in the Premier League this season, showing how this is a consistent part of his game and furthering my confidence in backing him to win at least one foul here.

One of the most identifiable traits of this England side under Thomas Tuchel is how often they utilise corners, with it being a consistent part of their game plan during the World Cup and against Spain last time out.

One of the main reasons why England are so good at winning corners is how much of their play goes through the wide areas. That’s where the space will be here, Czechia will drop into quite a low block and force England wide - increasing the chances of the Three Lions coming away with a decent corner count.

England racked up six corners against Spain last time out, showing just how effective Tuchel’s side can be when it comes to winning and offering an attacking threat from corners. They averaged 5.13 corners per game during the World Cup, and their general dominance in possession should see England come away with a healthy corner count again.

Despite the eventual disappointment of England’s defeat to Spain last time out, I think Tuchel’s side can take a lot from the fact that no side has managed to cause Spain defensive problems over the last few months quite like England’s front four.

This selection landed in all but two of England’s games at the World Cup, their group stage draw with Ghana and eventual exit to Argentina in the semi final. They have more than enough quality to punish this Czech side, who underperformed at the World Cup and have a new manager at the helm in Santi Denia.

Czechia conceded two goals in their opening game of the Nations League campaign against Croatia, notably allowing their opponents to generate an xG of 1.84 from 16 shots.

Despite the eventual disappointment of England’s defeat to Spain last time out, I think Tuchel’s side can take a lot from the fact that no side has managed to cause Spain defensive problems over the last few months quite like England’s front four.

This selection landed in all but two of England’s games at the World Cup, their group stage draw with Ghana and eventual exit to Argentina in the semi final. They have more than enough quality to punish this Czech side, who underperformed at the World Cup and have a new manager at the helm in Santi Denia.

Czechia conceded two goals in their opening game of the Nations League campaign against Croatia, notably allowing their opponents to generate an xG of 1.84 from 16 shots.

Spain scored three goals against England last time out and looked just as dangerous in that game as they did during the World Cup with Yamal, Oyarzabal and Baena finding the back of the net.

They’re as short as 1.14 in places to win here, so we’re getting a slight boost on Luis de la Fuente’s side to score at least twice here. Spain haven’t lost in 19 matches, with the last team to beat them being Colombia in a friendly back in 2024.

Spain scored 21 goals across six games during World Cup qualifying (3.5 per game), netting eight goals across their three home games (2.66 per game). They also won all three of their home games during the last Nations League campaign, scoring seven goals in the process. 

Croatia have entered a new era under Slaven Bilic, who has taken over from former long term coach Zlatko Dalic. It’s going to take some time for Croatia to compete against this calibre of opposition given the change, and I can see Spain coming away with a comfortable victory in which they score at least twice.

There was plenty for Scotland to be optimistic about in their 0-0 draw with Slovenia last time out. Sebastien Pocognoli’s side were poor in the first half from an attacking standpoint but really clicked into gear in the second half.

They dominated the underlying numbers and should have really found the back of the net, taking 17 shots and seeing five of these attempts find the target. It took a man of the match performance from Jan Oblak to keep Scotland out, with the away side generating an xG of 2.16.

Switzerland are the main challengers to Scotland in this group, and I think we’ll see that have an impact on the approach Scotland take here. We saw them upset Denmark and Spain at home under Steve Clarke, so they have the ability to get on the scoresheet against a side that’s superior on paper.

Slovakia are comfortably the best side in this Nations League C group which also houses Kazakhstan, Faroe Islands and Moldova.

Slovakia kicked off their campaign with a routine 2-0 win over Moldova in which they limited their opponents to just one shot on target while having 17 shots themselves, resulting in an xG of 1.71.

They also had 36 touches in the opposition box during that clash, leading to seven corners - showing how Slovakia completely dominated the underlying numbers as the strongest side in this group.

Kazakhstan failed to beat Faroe Islands last time out and look particularly weak when away from home. They were fortunate to get a point against Faroe Islands last time out given that they only generated an xG of 0.39 while facing an xG against of 1.42 from 14 shots.

There were no goals in Scotland’s Nations League opener against Slovenia on Saturday, but I’m prepared to look beyond that here and side with over 1.5 goals at Hampden.

The Scots passed up a number of gilt-edged chances, having racked up 17 shots and posted an xG of 2.16.

Pocognoli wants Scotland to play on the front foot, and Switzerland should give the hosts more room to do so than Slovenia did on Saturday.

Even before Pocognoli’s arrival, five of Scotland’s six World Cup qualifiers featured over 1.5 goals, as did each of their final two friendlies before the tournament.

As for Switzerland, they comfortably cleared the over 1.5 goals line single-handedly in Saturday’s 3-0 win away at North Macedonia. 

That means over 1.5 goals has landed in 11 of the visitors’ last 13 matches across all competitions, further strengthening the case for a repeat in Glasgow.

I’m expecting a fairly open game at Hampden on Tuesday night, which makes over 8.5 corners worth siding with.

There were exactly 9 corners in Scotland’s stalemate with Slovenia on Saturday. 

Notably, all 4 of Scotland’s flag kicks came in the second half, when the Scots took control and grew into the game.

I would expect them to at least match that return here, if not better it, in front of a passionate Hampden crowd.

Scotland also conceded 5 corners against Slovenia, and they could be forced to defend their fair share here against a Switzerland side that won five away at North Macedonia at the weekend.

The two teams’ World Cup corner figures add to the appeal of this angle.

Scotland’s matches averaged 9.34 corners per game, while Switzerland’s averaged slightly more at 9.67.

It’s also worth pointing out that the pair’s meeting at Euro 2024 produced 13 corners, adding further weight to this selection.

The Switzerland forward needs little invitation to try his luck in front of goal, as he showed in Saturday’s 3-0 win over North Macedonia, when he fired off 6 attempts, 4 of which hit the target.

Ndoye was also a reliable source of shots at the World Cup earlier this summer, managing 2 or more attempts in five of his six starts.

His club figures only bolster the case, registering 11 shots in five Premier League appearances for Nottingham Forest this season, racking up 8 efforts across his final two outings before the international break.

That all points to Ndoye getting 2+ shots away against a Scotland side still finding their feet under new manager Pocognoli.

John McGinn looks well placed to attempt at least one shot against Switzerland on Tuesday night. 

The Scotland midfielder played in an attacking midfield role against Slovenia on Saturday and managed 1 attempt.

That means McGinn has had at least 1 shot in eight of his last 10 competitive appearances for Scotland, firing off 2 or more attempts in three of those games.

On the domestic front, McGinn has tried his luck 4 times across Aston Villa’s opening five Premier League games of the season and scored with 1 of his 3 attempts in their Champions League win away at Club Brugge.

McGinn has taken penalties for Scotland in the past, and with Scott McTominay absent, the possibility of him stepping up again adds to the appeal of backing him for a shot on Tuesday night.

James Wade is still operating at a really high level, which is so impressive for a player that won this competition in 2007 and 2010.

He’s really improved his scoring power over the last few years, which has allowed him to keep pace with the likes of Humphries and Littler while still maintaining a devastating accuracy on the outer ring.

Wade is so effective because of his timing, he’ll often be sitting on a 70-120 finish with his opponent about to take the leg and still find a way to check out. It’s what he’s made his career on, and I can see him continuing his strong run of form here.

Wade has won a European Tour, a Players Championship event and a World Series event this year - so he’s still getting to the latter stages of tournaments even if he has had to wait a few years for a major success.

Cullen has struggled this year, and comes into this having lost his last three games. He did get to the semi final of this event back in 2023, but it’s not really suited to his style and he also lost to Wade in the only meeting between the pair this year. 

Gian van Veen is rightly the favourite here (1.53), but I wouldn’t write off Dirk van Duijvenbode here who has improved steadily over the last few years following a pretty nasty shoulder injury.

Dirk pushed van Veen when the pair met in the World Series Finals a few weeks back, he lost 10-8 but still put in a really good account of himself against a player in van Veen who hasn’t quite looked the same since reaching the final of the World Championship last year.

Gian van Veen has never been past the first stage of the World Grand Prix, losing to Luke Littler in the first round last year having lost 2-0 to Ross Smith in his debut campaign. Dirk has reached the final of the World Grand Prix before, back in 2020, and should be able to take at least one set off van Veen given his improving recent form.

This could be the most straightforward game of the first round in the World Grand Prix with Luke Humphries heavily expected to see off a stuttering Dave Chisnall, who has not been at his best for a few years now.

Humphries won the World Grand Prix in 2023, and has had quite a few runs to the latter stages of the tournament - reaching the final last year, losing to Luke Littler in the final (shock). He’s such a talented player, but he does need some luck to fall his way in the major competitions.

Humphries is consistently reaching the quarter finals and semi finals of major events, but seems to struggle from that point. He didn’t have this block in the year he dominated darts, so it’s probably a psychological factor rather than a drop off in ability.

Chisnall has lost each of the last four head to head meetings between these two, losing 10-4 when they faced off in the UK Open with Humphries recording an average of 103.65 to Chisnall’s 86.41. 

Andrew Gilding is not a man you want to face in the early stages of a major tournament, he often gets the support of the crowd and is a very capable player - especially in a format which could trip up many favourites.

Bunting went out in the first round of the World Series Finals to Josh Rock last time out and has struggled more widely over the last few months, winning just one of his last five matches across various Euro Tour and floor events.

Gilding reached the quarter final of this event back in 2023, and will be an awkward assignment for Bunting here - who has not been past the last 16 in each of the last two years in the World Grand Prix, bowing out in the opening round in 2024.

I think this ends up being a very tense match between two players who don’t have fantastic runs of form heading into this game. It could go either way, I don’t have Bunting as much of a favourite as the market does. 

James Wade is still operating at a really high level, which is so impressive for a player that won this competition in 2007 and 2010.

He’s really improved his scoring power over the last few years, which has allowed him to keep pace with the likes of Humphries and Littler while still maintaining a devastating accuracy on the outer ring.

Wade is so effective because of his timing, he’ll often be sitting on a 70-120 finish with his opponent about to take the leg and still find a way to check out. It’s what he’s made his career on, and I can see him continuing his strong run of form here.

Wade has won a European Tour, a Players Championship event and a World Series event this year - so he’s still getting to the latter stages of tournaments even if he has had to wait a few years for a major success.

Cullen has struggled this year, and comes into this having lost his last three games. He did get to the semi final of this event back in 2023, but it’s not really suited to his style and he also lost to Wade in the only meeting between the pair this year. 

It’s fair to say that Damon Heta doesn’t really like this tournament, he’s gone out in the first round of the World Grand Prix in each of the last five years and has a very testing first game here against Gary Anderson.

Anderson has still got real levels, having reached the final of a recent European Tour and getting through the first few rounds of the World Matchplay earlier this year. He won this competition back in 2016, and should have a real advantage against Heta who is almost allergic to this stage.

Anderson beat Heta in the most recent clash between the two back in 2025, and should generally have more confidence heading into this one than Heta who is likely to have to wait another year for a win on this stage.