There are only a couple weeks left until Euro 2016, and this week ahead is a pivotal one for so many teams. Sure, the fixtures don't ultimately count for anything, but getting your squad in order is vitally important before the 24 qualifying teams descend upon France for the biggest soccer competition of the year.
Belgium has been flying high heading into the Euros, and it's rightfully a huge favorite going up against Finland in it penultimate prep match for Euro 2016.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Belgium -300
Finland +800
Draw +550
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Belgians have been mowing down foes over the course of the last several years, so it shouldn't be all that surprising that they're laying a huge amount of chalk here against a Finnish team which should be brutally overmatched.
The spread though, is a big one. Belgium is being asked to lay a goal and a half on the Asian Handicap, and for as good as this team has been, there have been several disappointments and near misses as well, including a 2-1 win over Switzerland just a couple days ago in Geneva.
Keep in mind as well that these two teams have been relatively level with one another over the course of time. History isn't always the best indicator in these friendly matches, but Finland does sport a 4-3-3 record and just a -1 goal differential against Belgium all-time.
ROSTER ANALYSIS
Belgium really looked dangerous against Switzerland for about an hour over the weekend in Geneva. Sure, things started slow, but Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne both found the back of the net to pick up the victory. These are just two of the big options the Red Devils have at their disposal. They also have Christian Benteke, Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens, all of which are excellent candidates to start in Euro 2016. Only two of these five though, will ultimately get the call up front, while it's possible that at least one will drop into the midfield.
Finland, which isn't playing in Euro 2016 this year, is going to try to take a defensive approach to this match for sure as it did in qualifying. One only needs to look at the glut of defensemen on the roster to know that it will be using five in the back to try to slow down the Belgians. One man to watch is Jere Uronen, a man who plays his club soccer in Belgium with Genk. He's only 21 years old, but he'll certainly want to prove something against a team full of players he's familiar playing with and going against.
LIVE BETTING
The last time Finland was on the pitch was back in March in a match against Poland, and we can only hope we'll see a better result in this one than we saw that day. The Poles put five home without a response, and three of the goals were scored in a span of just 14 minutes to effectively rip the life out of the Finnish.
Belgium is 9-0-2 in its last 11 matches overall, and it's won some testy affairs as well. Beating Switzerland on the road was a far tougher task than this should be, as was beating Italy 3-1 at home in the last friendly match of 2015.
QUICK PICK
Belgium has some things to clean up from that match with Switzerland, particularly in the middle of the pitch. We'll want to see better from Axel Witsel and his midfielders in this match, but we think the opportunity is going to be there to do so.
Though the Finnish cannot possibly be worse in this one than they were against Poland, we do suspect they're getting ready for another fairly tough beating at the hands of a definitively superior team.
Soccer Odds: Belgium 3, Finland 0
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