Belgium opened their World Cup campaign with a pair of draws, but after thrashing New Zealand 5-1, they reached the knockout stage. There, they eliminated Senegal and the USA, before losing to Spain only because of Courtois' injury. In the opening round against Italy, they surprised everyone once again: new head coach Van Bommel marked his debut with a 2-0 away victory.
France continued to lose ground at the World Cup. They lifted the trophy in 2018, but in Qatar they lost the final to Argentina on penalties. This summer, after starting with wins only, they were unable to offer Spain much resistance in the semifinals, losing 0-2, and then fell to England 4-6 in the third-place playoff. After that, Deschamps stepped down, while in Zidane's debut match, France managed only a narrow win in Turkey. Moreover, the scorer of the only goal, Mbappe, picked up an injury in the process.
De Bruyne and company score an average of 2.4 goals and concede 0.8. The former world champions average 2.4 goals scored and 1.1 conceded per match.
Previous matches: Belgium vs France
France, led by Mbappe and company, have won all five of the teams' most recent head-to-head encounters.
The visitors are expected to win. But they will face a real battle, so we are backing the "under 3.5 goals" market (odds – 1.65).
Belgium vs France: key stats and trends
Belgium have won in regular time in only three of their seven matches
60% of Belgium's matches have seen both teams score, while the average total goals per match is 3.2
France have lost twice in their last three matches
40% of France's matches have seen both teams score, while the average total goals per match is 3.5
Belgium vs France: possible starting lineups
Belgium play in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation (possible lineup): Lammens - Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele, De Cuyper - Tielemans, Raskin - Da Silva Moreira, De Bruyne, Gods - De Ketelaere
France play in a 1-4-5-1 formation (possible lineup): Maignan - Kounde, Upamecano, Lacroix, Truffert - Cherki, Kone, Rabiot, Olise, Dembele - Doue. Mbappe left with an injury