Belgium vs Russia Euro 2020 betting picks – Saturday, June 12

Euro 2020 title fancies Belgium kick off their campaign against Russia on Saturday night when they travel to St Petersburg in Group B match play.

Belgium enter their first match of the tournament as red-hot -142.86 favourites with soccer bookies, and with the plethora of talent at their disposal, they should be walking away with the three points. Having been knocked out in the quarter-final stage of Euro 2016 by Wales, the Red Devils are back with a vengeance for Euro 2020.

Russia (+400) kick off their campaign in St Petersburg and will be looking to use their home-ground advantage to try and gain a result against their much-fancied rivals. The Russians will have their backs against the wall throughout Saturday night’s encounter having not beaten Belgium in any of their seven previous encounters, managing just two draws in those games.

Belgium vs Russia match analysis

Belgium are sitting at +600 in Euro 2020 outright betting, and considering they are ranked no.1 in the world, they will want to win their opener with ease. Star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is expected to miss the national side’s first match after suffering a double face-fracture in the UEFA Champions League final which has placed him in serious doubt for the group stages. However, with the likes of Youri Tielemans, Thorgan Hazard and Yannick Carrasco as midfield options, depth is no issue for the Belgians.

Russia will need to be at their very best to defy history and claim their first-ever win against the Belgians. The likes of defender Mario Fernandes, midfielder Aleksandr Golovin and attacker Artem Dzyuba will need to put in some of their best performances to overturn recent results against the Red Devils. Russia lost 4-1 and 3-1 in Euro qualifying to Belgium, and despite the injuries that Roberto Martinez’s side is dealing with at the moment, it is set to be a genuine uphill battle for the outsiders.

Belgium vs Russia predictions & best bets

Total goals: Over 3.5

This Belgian side has plenty of attacking weapons with Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens and Yannick Carrasco helping the Red Devils net 14 goals in their past five international matches. Despite being without Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel and Eden Hazard, the no.1-ranked side in the world still have enough creative options to cover the overs on the 3.5 goals line.

Anytime goalscorer: Dries Mertens

Dries Mertens has been in dynamic form for Napoli this season in Serie A, where he has arguably been one of the more influential players in the league. In 98 appearances for the national team, he has found the back of the net on 21 occasions, and he is set to form a dynamic duo with Romelu Lukaku during the Euros. He has not scored for Belgium in his past five appearances, but with no De Bruyne or Eden Hazard on Saturday, a crucial contribution will be required from the live-wire attacker.