Euro 2016 – Wales vs Belgium – Bet Tips

Wales vs Belgium – Prediction

Wales to Win – (2-1) – Wales and Belgium were in the same qualifying group for Euro 2016. Belgium managed to win the group but Wales got the better of them taking 4 points from their two games. Wales have already earned a heroes welcome back as they are the only home nation to have reached this stage of the tournament. As for Belgium the good performances they’ve put forward till now will be easily forgotten if they fail to get past Wales and the pressure is on them.
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Fixture Overview

Match 46

Wales vs Belgium

Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille

9 P.M CET, 01-07-2016

Betting Tips – Wales vs Belgium

• Wales to Win – 5.25 (Bet 365)

It’s pretty tight game to call. Belgium have reached the quarters after steamrolling all of their opponents with the exception of Italy while Wales can thank to their progress till now to their fantastic team spirit. Belgium though will be missing Vertonghen and Vermaelen in defense which considerably boosts Wales’ chances. The odds of a Belgium are pretty decent – 1.85 (Bet 365) but their is something about Wales that makes one back them.

• Both teams to Score – Yes – 2.25 (Paddypower)

Belgium have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three games while Wales have kept clean sheets in the last two. It ain’t going a clean sheet victory for either and goals are on the menu in Lille.

• Over 2.5 goals – 2.50 (William Hill)

If you had followed our betting tips through the Euro’s till now you might have noticed that Over 2.5 is a favorite bet for us. The reason for us backing Over 2.5 is that 2-1 is the most popular scoreline in a football game. Coming to this game with the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Hazard & De Bryune in the fray there are bound to be goals.

• Anytime Goalscorer – Gareth Bale – 3.70 (888 Sport)

Wales’ top scorer till now & tournament’s joint top scorer Gareth Bale is out pick to bang atleast one in against Belgium. Another pick of us to score in this game is Belgian youngster Michy Batshuayi who already has goal to his name in this tournament – 3.30 (Betvictor)

Route to the Quarter’s

• Wales qualified for the knockouts as Group B winners with 2 wins & 1 Loss. They narrowly edged past Slovakia in their opening game 2-1 but went onto lose their 2nd game against England by the same scoreline. The Dragons however bounced back in their final group game beating the Russians 3-0 and thereby winning the group.

• In the round of 16’s they went to face Northern Ireland. Despite a resilient effort from Northern Ireland, Wales ultimately won the game 1-0 thanks to own goal from Gareth McAuley.

• Belgium qualified for the knockouts as Group E runners-up with 2 wins & 1 loss. After suffering a 2-0 defeat against Italy in their opening game they went on to win against Northern Ireland & Sweden 3-0 & 1-0 respectively.

• In the round of 16’s they went onto thump their opponents Hungry 4-0 to secure a place in the quarters.

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Wales

For a team that are participating in their 1st ever European Championship Wales have looked at home. After being drawn into a relatively difficult group consisting of England, Slovakia & Russia, Wales come out as the group champions even giving the Russians a thrashing in the process.

Despite their inexperience in major tournaments Wales were in no way an “Underdog” . Spearheaded by the most expensive player in the world Gareth Bale their midfield comprises of the likes of Aaron Ramsey & Joe Allen. The Welsh defense spearheaded by Captain Ashley Williams have also done justice to themselves up until now.

As impressive as they have been so far Wales did struggle to create chances against Northern Ireland with just shot on target and that to from a freekick. Wales could follow the same tactic of defending deep and attacking on the counter which had helped them pick up a 1-0 victory against Belgium in the qualifying stages.

After conceding 3 goals in their first two games they’ve managed to keep clean sheets in their last two games. This is the first time they’ve kept consecutive clean sheets in a major tournament.

This is not Wales’ first appearance in the quarter finals of a major tournament. In their only previous appearance in a major tournament – The 1958 FIFA World Cup they did manage to reach the quarters only to be beaten 1-0 by eventual winners Brazil thanks to a Pele goal.

Defender Ashley Williams who had picked up a shoulder injury in their game against Northern Ireland has recovered and should start against Belgium. Chris Coleman otherwise has a fully fit squad to choose from on Friday.

Overall Bet Tips

• Top Scorer

1. Gareth Bale – 1.03 (Paddypower)
2. Hal Robson Kanu – 67.00 (Paddypower)
3. Aaron Ramsey – 67.00 (Bet 365)

Not much of a doubt here! Gareth has 3 goals so far and is likely to add more against Belgium and maybe even against Portugal. He is also our pick to be the tournament top scorer – 8.00 (Paddypower)

• Overall Finish/Stage of Elimination

Wales were our pick to be the best performers among the four debutantes in the tournament and they have gotten the results as expected. Belgium will be their toughest opponents till now but their admirable team spirit should help them through. As of now Wales are my pick to be one of the finalists!

1. Quarter – 1.40 (Betfair)
2. Semi’s – 6.00 (Bet 365)
3. Runner-up – 11.00 (Bet 365)
4. Winner – 29.00 (Bet 365)

Euro 2016 Quarter Final Predictions

Poland vs Portugal

Germany vs Italy

France vs Iceland

Belgium

For many bookies & pundits Belgium were the favorites to win the whole thing coming into the tournament. However a miserable performance against Italy that saw them losing 2-0 in their opening game had earned them comparisons with England’s golden generation who had repeatedly struggled in major competitions.

Since their woeful opening game they’ve won all their 3 games convincingly scoring 8 goals and conceding none in the process. They are the favorites going into the game and do boast a better head to head record against Wales with 5 wins and 3 draws in their 12 previous meetings.

Belgium however had failed to breakdown the Welsh defense during qualifying stages with them managing only a single shot on target in their 1-0 defeat at Cardiff. Belgium’s best ever performance in the Euro’s came in 1980 when they managed to reach the final but ended up losing the game to West Germany 1-2.

Of the 8 goals Belgium have scored till now 7 have come in the 2nd half. Belgium have had 7 different scorers till now Lukaku leading the way with 2 goals. The superstar duo of Eden Hazard & Kevin De Bryune has provided assists to 6 of their 8 goals so far.

Belgium go into the game with some defensive woes after Jan Vertonghen was ruled out for the rest of the tournament after twisting his knee in training. Thomas Vermaelen will also be available as he serves a suspension for picking up a second yellow against Hungry.

Overall Bet Tips

• Top Scorer

1. Romelu Lukaku – 1.44 (Coral)
2. Eden Hazard – 9.00 (Bet 365)
3. Axel Witsel – 15.00 (Net Bet)
4. Radja Nainggloan – 15.00 (Coral)
5. Michy Batshuayi – 17.00 (Bet 365)

Lukaku was our pick to end up as the Belgian top scorer at the start of the tournament and even though he is still on top with 2 goals there are 7 different players in the fray with goal a piece. Among them are Eden Hazard & Michy Batshuayi with the former providing three assists as well. We’ll stick with Lukaku but won’t advice you against placing your bet on Hazard considering the odds on offer.

• Overall Finish/Stage of Elimination

Belgian has proved us wrong as they were our pick to be one of the flops of the tournament. England however proved against Iceland that they were not going to let go of their chokers tag easily. Either ways Wales will be a difficult tie for the Red Devils and it will probably be the end of the their tournament.

1. Quarter – 3.50 (Bet 365)
2. Semi’s – 3.25 (Betvictor)
3. Runner-up – 4.50 (Bet 365)
4. Winner – 5.50 (888 Sport)

Past Meeting

As mentioned the last time these two teams met was in the 2016 Euro qualifier. After the holding the Belgians to 0-0 draw in Brussels, Wales went onto to win the second game in Cardiff 1-0 thanks to a Gareth Bale goal.

Final Verdict

On paper Belgium are the stronger unit but are somewhat suspect at the back with the absence of Vertonghen & Vermaelen. Wales on the other hand are a team full of confidence and belief. Ultimately it will come down to whether Belgium can break down the Welsh defense and whether their make shift defense can keep out Bale and Co. out. It’s a tough one to call but Wales have the momentum and will come through on top and might even reach the final.