After failing to qualify for the last two major international tournaments, not many would have thought that Netherlands would be coming into the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign as realistic competition for the top spot in a group that includes Germany.
Nevertheless, after a resurgence under Ronald Koeman and a return of the incredible Dutch academy products, they are perhaps even favourites. They opened their campaign with a 4-0 hammering of Belarus on Thursday, but it won’t be that result that has them feeling rather confident.
Instead, they will look back on the first UEFA Nations League campaign that was played throughout Autumn. They managed to top their group ahead of both France and Germany, only losing away to France and beating both of these powerhouses in Holland.
Netherlands have lost just two of their 11 matches since Koeman took charge, and that includes stunning wins over the likes of Portugal, France, and Germany. At home they have now won four games on the trot and scored 11 goals in the process, with Koeman’s only failure on home soil being a 1-0 defeat against England in his first match in charge.
Germany, on the other hand, are a team in disarray at the moment. Joachim Low managed to keep his job despite their utter humiliation in the World Cup, but things haven’t improved since they were dumped out in the group stages in Russia.
The visitors have won only two of their seven matches since, and their most recent failure was a drab 1-1 draw at home to Serbia on Wednesday. Simply put, none of their players performed even remotely close to their capabilities, and another defeat on Sunday would be a huge blow.
This Thursday’s UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier in Brussels is one of the standout fixtures over the international fortnight. It features two sides who made the last eight at the 2018 World Cup, with hosts Russia exiting at that stage on penalties while Belgium made it to the last four before suffering defeat against eventual winners France.
They are the top two seeds in Group I, which also includes Scotland. Belgium certainly will strongly expect to quality from this group with relative ease. They were though surprisingly hammered 5-2 by Switzerland in their final UEFA Nations League game so they will be keen to finally banish those memories as they return to action four months on from a tough night in Luzern.
Since surprising everyone at the 2018 World Cup, Russia have been brought back down to earth to some extent. They were beaten 3-0 in Germany and 2-0 in Sweden over the most recent international break so it’s hard to fancy them here but they had a reasonable Nations League campaign overall, with 7 points from their 4 fixtures.
Belgium’s golden generation is now an experienced international unit and they’ll be hungry to build on 3rd place at the World Cup by getting their hands on some silverware over the next 4 years. They’ve not lost at home since a friendly defeat to Spain in 2016, while their last competitive home defeat was way back in September 2010.
They are a side packed full of attacking talent and scored 16 goals in Russia last summer, more than any other side. They averaged 5.2 goals per home game during qualifying for that competition and they’ve won 8 of their last 10 competitive home games by a 2 goal margin or greater.
Russia over-achieved at their own World Cup and are likely to end up battling with Scotland and perhaps even Cyprus for 2nd place in this group. They’ve not played that many away games in recent years as they played a large number of home friendlies in preparation for that tournament but 4 of their last 6 road games have ended in defeat.
Overall, Belgium are much the stronger team and with home advantage, backing Belgium -1 Handicap looks good.
Eintracht is sensational and again managed to win a big victory. This time he beat 1-0 on Inter's field. Frankfurt is well worth the status of its favorite team and according to its last results, balancing with the opponent, can not miss the victory. I think he is the only unknown in Frankfurt vs Nurnberg and is the final score so i `m counting on a game with at least 3 goals
West Ham have won 7 drawn 3 and lost 5 of their 15 home league games played, and sit 9th in the Premiership with 39 points, losing their last league game played 2-0 away against Cardiff. Huddersfield have won 1 drawn 3 and lost 10 of their 14 league away games played, and sit 20th in the Premiership with 14 points, losing their last league game played 0-2 at home against Bournemouth. Huddersfield held West Ham to a 1-1 draw at home this season, with West Ham doing the double over Huddersfield last season 2-0 at home and 1-4 away. Huddersfield have gone theeir last 5 league away games played without scoring a goal losing 1-0 against Brighton in their last league away game played. West Ham have gone their last 5 home league games played unbeaten, beating Newcastle 2-0 in thier last league home game played. I am taking West Ham to win this match today.
By the time this game begins, Leeds United could be second in the Championship but five points behind leaders Norwich City. That'll be the situation if Norwich get their expected home victory over Swansea City on Friday evening. Leeds are two points clear of third-placed Sheffield United but they have a far easier game this weekend at home to relegation-threatened Rotherham United. It's far tougher for Leeds as they travel to sixth-placed Bristol City. United are in good form though with three wins in their last four league games and beat West Bromwich Albion 4-0 at home last weekend. Their away form is patchy though with only one win in their last five league games and that has to improve if they want automatic promotion.
Bristol City are sixth in the Championship which is the final play-off position. They are only ahead of seventh-placed Derby County on goal difference but do have a game i hand. They had a long unbeaten run to get into the top six but recent games have seen that form slip. Bristol City have just one point from their last three league matches losing to both Birmingham City and leaders Norwich City. They had been unbeaten in seven home league games before the loss to Birmingham. This should be a thriller and the tip is for over 2.5 goals to be scored in the game.
Benfica are the bookies favourites to progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League but they won't find life easy away to Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of this tie. The Croatians easily won their group by six points and were unbeaten in their three home games with two convincing wins over Fenerbahce and Spartak Trnava and a goalless draw with Anderlecht. They took on Viktoria Pizen (who finished third in their Champions League group) in the last 32 and although losing the away leg, won the home leg 3-0 to progress. They are unbeaten in their last seven home games in this competition with five wins and two draws but only won one of the last four home and away.
Benfica also began the season in the Champions League but finished third behind Bayern Munich and Ajax. They were drawn against Galatasaray in the last 32 of the Europa League and won 2-1 on aggregate, all the goals coming in their away first leg victory. Benfica are top of the Portuguese league and unbeaten in their last nine games with eight wins and the home draw with Galatasaray.Over 90 minutes they have gone six Europa League away games without defeat. The suggested bet here is a double chance on Benfica to win or draw this match.
The visitors have managed to score in 12 of their last 13 games on the road in this competition. They’ve seen both teams score in 11 of those matches, while the Dutch side have scored in their last seven in Europe. We see them grabbing a goal in a defeat here, with Real conceding in eight of their last nine home games in the Champions League. I’m going for BTTS on Tuesday night.
Werder Bremen are in tenth place in the Bundesliga. Their home record is okay with four wins, four draws and three defeats. They have scored a decent twenty one goals but conceded eighteen. Werder Bremen might be in luck tonight as VFB Stuttgart have just four points from eleven away matches, losing nine times. They don’t score much either with seven goals and have conceded a massive twenty seven times.
This could be tight affair Chelsea Eden Hazard aside are very much in and out as their 6-0 thrashing by Man City showed and the Red Devils come into this on the back of a defeat their first under a new manager losing 0-2 to PSG with no replay I can see this going all the way to penalties after Extra Time. Against Top 6 opposition Chelsea have an excellent record. Manchester United won 1-3 at Arsenal their first away win in the FA Cup since 2012. The last 6 games ther home side have played have averaged over 2.5 goals so i favour that in a high scoring draw 2-2 or 3-3
Two good teams, who would like to win here. Sevilla is one of the biggest favorites to win their another Europa League title. They now how to win and away goal here would be important. Lazio is very unstable team and it is hard to predict what they how us this time. I think that goals is safe bet here.
Real Madrid are back on form and after a poor Autumn are now winning games regularly. They have won their last five matches and will trying to reach their ninth Champions League quarter final in a row. Ajax have only won once in their four games in 2019 and could well be dominated here against an opponent that they have lost to in their last six contests.
Juventus are having a stellar campaign, but they’re going through their toughest spell yet. The Old Lady were held to a 3-3 draw with Parma last weekend. The champions need to pick things up with the Champions League looming, but they still have huge issues in defence to sort out. That makes this a difficult clash for the visitors, who can’t afford to drop more points, with Napoli looking to cut their lead.
Sassuolo have found a more attacking style of play this season, and they are set to go out on the front foot with a 4-3-3 set up in this game. The hosts have created plenty of chances this season, averaging just shy of 16 shots per game at home. With both teams scoring in four of the five clashes between these two sides at the MAPEI Stadium, we’re backing the Neroverdi to find the net against a Juve defence which has shipped six goals in two matches.
Sassuolo have averaged two goals per game at home this term, scoring in 91% of their league games at the MAPEI. Juventus have a record of conceding here, while their defence looks riddled with gaps.
Arsenal look quite short for a team who haven't won on the road in 6 games and have lost the last three (the top 2 & West Ham). They should respond here against a Huddersfield team who have lost 11/12 including the last at home. If David Wagner, so committed, felt he had to step away, it is hard to see Siewert turning things round. Huddersfield now resemble Derby's awful season in the PL (11pts). They have played most of their relegation rivals at home, so they may avoid matching Derby's record but struggle to get past Sunderland's 15pts. Scoring goals has been a problem, they have failed to net in the last 4 & they haven't netted over 1.5 goals in this barren run of 12 games. Arsenal though are yet to keep a clean-sheet on the road or won to nil, their defence suspect, however, Emery may seek a response in the same way Chelsea did against these opponents.
The away side Valencia are used to close games, with just 32% of their matches this season seeing over 2.5 goals scored. They’ve seen less than three goals in 64% of their away trips, thanks to their lack of goals on the road. They meet a Betis side who have seen four straight games with fewer than three goals in each. Under 2.5 has landed in five of Valencia’s last seven away trips in this competition, along with three of their last four meetings with Betis. With that in mind, under 2.5 goals looks like a good bet on what is set to be a tense encounter.
After a 1-0 win over Ecuador on Friday, it’s now 3 wins from 3 for the US under the watch of Berhalter and there’s a renewed vigour around the side once again. American football had entered crisis mode following failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986 last year, but the ex-Columbus Crew manager is now looking to spearhead a revival with a new generation of players.
Early signs are certainly promising and with the likes of Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams in their ranks, the side could well have a bright future if they can find a winning formula. Having beaten Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador during their current winning run, without conceding a single goal in the process, confidence is high going into Tuesday’s match and the hosts are hopeful of securing another step in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Chilean football also hit a real low-point, as the side were one of the biggest names to miss out on the action in Russia last year. With the fabled golden generation now entering the end of their international careers, Chile’s long term future may not be as bright, but for now, focus can only be on building momentum ahead of the approaching Copa America.
Boss Reinaldo Rueda has yet to really convince since taking charge and it’s fair to say, La Roja aren’t looking much of a force right now. Indeed, they’ve lost 3 of their last 5 matches and looked very fragile in a 3-1 defeat to Mexico on Saturday, leaving spirits and confidence low coming into this game.
Ultimately, if this match was being played a couple of years ago, you’d have Chile down as comfortable winners but that’s simply not the case now. Indeed, the US appear to be improving under the new regime and have looked a well organised outfit in recent outings; something that certainly cannot be said about the Chileans.