England vs Belgium FIFA World Cup 2018 – Lineups, Predictions & Stats Preview 28 June 2018

England and Belgium have qualified for the round of 16 of the FIFA 2018 World Cup. Belgium looked like the favourites to top the group after a 5-2 win against Tunisia, but England's spectacular 6-1 win against Panama moved them to the top of the table through fair play rules.

England Probable Lineups and Stats

England is expected to field their strongest team, and that means Jordan Pickford will start as the goalkeeper. A back three of Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and John Stones who scored 2 goals against Panama will guard the defence. Ashley Young and Kieran Trippier will be on the left and right wing respectively. In the midfield, Jordan Henderson will retain his defensive midfield position, while Lingard and Loftus-Cheek will be the creative players. Raheem Sterling had an assist in their previous match and is expected to be in front alongside Harry Kane who is the leading goal scorer in the tournament. England is expected to retain their 3-5-2 formation which gives them 5 defenders whenever they and being attacked by their opponents.

England is in a good run of form, and their possession of 59% against Panama is an area they will want to improve in this match. Fabian Delph, Jamie Vardy, and Danny Rose were involved in the previous match, and we could see more players being given a chance by Gareth Southgate.

Belgium Probable Lineups and Stats

Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois will remain as Belgium’s first choice goalkeeper in this match. Their defence will be guarded by Toby Alderweireld (who had an assist in their game against Tunisia), Dedryck Boyata and Jan Vertonghen. Thomas Meunier and Carrasco will be on the right and left wing respectively. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Axel Witsel will be the anchors in the middle. Belgium’s attack will have the trio of Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, and Lukaku who has been outstanding for them. Belgium played a 3-4-2-1 formation in their game against Tunisia, but they might change it to have more defenders to curb the threat of Harry Kane.

Belgium had possession of 50% in their last match and would like to improve on this in their upcoming game. So far, their game plan has worked, and Lukaku has not disappointed with the chances he has received. With England’s tight defence and superb goalkeeper, Belgium’s attack will have to go an extra mile to secure a win for their country.

England v Belgium – Head to Head

England and Belgium have met five times in the past. Three of those matches ended up in draws while the last two games have been England wins. Belgium would like to break this jinx by beating their opponents at the Kaliningrad Stadium. Belgium has their best squad ever in this tournament and finding their opponent’s net is no longer a problem. England, on the other hand, has Harry Kane, and Southgate has labelled him as the ‘best 9 in the tournament’. This game might prove to be the game of the tournament so far.

Expert Tip

Belgium and England are both very strong teams with fearsome strikers who will fight to become top goalscorers in this edition of the World Cup. So far, Harry Kane has scored 5 goals, while Romelu Lukaku has 4 goals scored in the opposing net.

We expect to see a great spectacle between these two teams but given that fact the only criteria that currently separates England and Belgium is the fair play points, our tip for the game is Draw at Half-Time. The second tip we have is Over 2.5 goals in the game.

Interesting Facts and Information

  • England haven’t lost in their last 12 games.
  • Belgium haven’t lost in their last 21 games.
  • England have a winning streak of 4 games.
  • Belgium have a winning streak of 4 games.
  • England wins 1st half in 41% of their games, Belgium in 50% of their games.
  • England have not lost in any of their last 4 games against Belgium (in all competitions).
  • In the last 4 meetings England won 2, Belgium won 0, 2 draws.
  • The winner of their last meeting was England.
  • England scores 1.75 goals in a match against Belgium and Belgium scores 1.25 goals against England (on average).
  • England scores 1.75 goals when playing at home and Belgium scores 3 goals when playing away (on average).
  • Average number of goals in meetings between England and Belgium is 3.
  • When England leads 1-0 at home, they win in 80% of their games.
  • When Belgium leads 0-1 away, they win in 100% of their games.
  • When England is down 0-1 home, they win 100% of their games.
  • England have scored at least one goal for 6 consecutive games.

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