The Belgian team is still in its golden age. Their stars are at the peak of their careers, which shows that Belgium can continue their success from the 2018 World Cup. Even without Kevin De Bruyne or Romelu Lukaku due to injury, they can easily have a worthy replacement.
The home team can still rely on other pillars such as Mertens, Nacer Chadli, Yannick Carrasco and especially captain Eden Hazard. The Chelsea player will certainly receive special care from Russian defenders because he is always a big threat.
In theory, this was the highlight match in Group I, but the Russian team has declined a lot after their miracle at the 2018 World Cup at home. Coach Stanislav Cherchesov has taken the initiative to eliminate most of the players and veterans who helped the Russian bear reach the quarter-finals of the above tournament to give opportunities to new names.
The Belgian team has a huge advantage in this match when they play at the Baudouin King's Stadium. Here, they are on a 15-match unbeaten streak at home, with 11 wins. More broadly, with 20 games into their run, Belgium have lost just one against Spain in 2016. Moreover, the history of the confrontation also shows Belgium's dominance over Russia, winning 3 and drawing 1 in the last 4 encounters.
With many advantages, from the superior force to the home field advantage, there are not many opportunities for the Russian bear to create a surprise in this match.
Expected lineup
Belgium (3-4-1-2): Courtois, Alderweireld, Ciman, Vertonghen, Meunier, Carrasco, Witsel, De Bruyne; Mertens, Eden Hazard, Lukaku.
Russia (3-4-2): Akinfeev, Kutepov, Ignasevich, Kudryashov, Fernandes, Kuzyaev, Zobnin, Zhirkov, Samedov, gol gol golovin, Dzyuba.
