Russia v Belgium international friendly match preview, fresh betting tips. The fascinating contest at the Fisht Olympic Stadium.

Simon Winter

Match Preview - 17:00 Kick-Off at Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi

Given the fact that World Cup hosts Russia don’t have to go through a qualification process for the tournament, their friendly games take on an extra significance. Coach Stanislav Cherchesov knows that it’s a difficult process to prepare a team for a World Cup without any competitive fixtures and he will hope that Belgium approach Tuesday’s fixture fully focussed and ready to provide Russia with a real test.

Belgium will be disappointed with their efforts in the international break so far. They missed the chance to make it 5 wins in 5 when they were held 1-1 at home by group rivals Greece. There is enormous pressure on manager Robert Martinez to get the best out of a talented but underachieving collection of players and every sub-par performance will be scrutinised.

The last time the sides met in Russia was back in 2014, when Liverpool’s Divock Origi scored the only goal of the game.

Russia’s recent results:

Mar 24th 2017 Russia 0:2 Ivory Coast - Friendly

Nov 15th 2016 Russia 1:0 Romania - Friendly

Nov 10th 2016 Qatar 2:1 Russia - Friendly

Oct 9th 2016 Russia 3:4 Costa Rica - Friendly

Belgium’s recent results:

Mar 25th 2017 Belgium 1:1 Greece - WC Qualifying Group

Nov 13th 2016 Belgium 8:1 Estonia - WC Qualifying Group

Nov 9th 2016 Netherlands 1:1 Belgium - Friendly

Oct 10th 2016 Gibraltar 0:6 Belgium - WC Qualifying Group

Odds

Russia 23/10

Belgium 13/10

Draw 21/10

(Odds taken from Bet365)

Russia v Belgium Predictions

Belgium will be going all out to end the international break on a high, especially after they missed the chance to extend their lead in the qualifying group by failing to beat Greece. The lack of competitive football will have taken away much of Russia’s edge, so this is a great chance for Roberto Martinez to pick up an away win in Sochi.

Romelu Lukaku is on fire and looks like scoring in every game he plays. He found the net against Greece and Bet365 have odds of 6/4 for him to score anytime in Russia. NetBet have odds of 23/20 for there to be over 2.5 goals in the game and with Belgium’s firepower coming up against a lacklustre and under-motivated Russian backline, those odds are worth taking.

Our Tips

Romelu Lukaku to score anytime 6/4 Bet365

Ove 2.5 goals 23/20 NetBet

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