Free football betting tips: England v Belgium - Nations League preview & best bets

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record

England v Belgium

  • 5pm BST kick-off on Sky Sports
  • Match odds:

England's Nations League double-header with Iceland and Denmark a month ago was truly forgettable, an injury-time Raheem Sterling penalty in Reykjavik the only goal across 180 minutes of 'action'.

Half-an-hour into Thursday's friendly with Wales that trend was continuing, with a drab showing from Gareth Southgate's much-changed team leading to some very understandable moans and groans.

But a debut goal from the unstoppable Dominic Calvert-Lewin, heading home a perfect Jack Grealish cross, followed by first England goals for Conor Coady and Danny Ings suddenly had some optimism returning. And why not?

Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Danny Ings and the teenage Bukayo Saka were all handed full debuts in in a starting XI that had a very fresh feel to it; at 54 it contained the same number of international caps as collected by Wales left-back Ben Davies. Harvey Barnes and Reece James added to that sentiment by making their first senior appearances off the bench.

The 23-man matchday squad included only six players who were in Russia two years ago when England's men ended a 28-year wait to reach a World Cup semi-final, winning the hearts of the nation in the process. In the six months prior, Southgate ruthlessly gutted an established team in favour of less experienced, younger players.

As the Three Lions prepare to face Belgium for the first time since 2018's third-place play-off, he is primed to do it again.

Southgate's selection headaches

Knowing who is going to play is always tricky in an international fixture, and what hasn't helped is the strong performances of several England players who stepped in against Wales.

Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho have all returned to the squad after missing Thursday's friendly following a Covid-19 breach. The former was never really in contention to start, but both Chilwell and Sancho are now under pressure.

Grealish and Saka, directly competing with the duo for a place in the XI, were arguably England's best players at Wembley. What is more, Chilwell and Sancho have barely played for their clubs this season because of injury and illness respectively.

)

Best bets:

England v Belgium Opta stats

  • England lost just one of their first 21 matches against Belgium (W15 D5) but have since lost each of their last two games against the Belgians, both at the 2018 World Cup.
  • Belgium are looking to become the first team since France between 2004 and 2010 to win three consecutive games against England, and only the fourth in three consecutive competitive games, after Scotland (1962-64), Italy (1980-97) and Brazil (1962-2002).
  • Since losing 4-1 against Germany at the 2010 World Cup, England haven’t lost a match on a Sunday (P13 W9 D4), winning five of their six Sunday matches under Gareth Southgate.
  • England have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six matches – should they keep a clean sheet against Belgium, it will be the longest run of games without conceding in the national side’s history.
  • England have won 19 of their last 20 competitive home matches (L1), the only loss in this run being a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Spain in September 2018.
  • Belgium have scored in each of their last 19 away matches, scoring 54 goals (W15 D2 L2), while scoring at least twice in 16 of those 19 games, including each of their last 13 (38 goals scored).
  • Harry Kane has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last five home matches for England (nine goals & one assist), scoring two hat-tricks in this run – against Bulgaria in September 2019 and Montenegro in November 2019, in what was his most recent home game; the only previous player to score a hat-trick in consecutive home appearances for England was Tommy Taylor between 1956 and 1957 versus Denmark and the Republic of Ireland.
  • Belgium striker Michy Batshauyi has scored four goals in two UEFA Nations League starts – both against Iceland – although Batshuayi has never scored at Wembley in four previous club appearances, all with Chelsea in 2017, netting an own goal three minutes after coming on as a substitute in August 2017 against Spurs.

Odds correct at 1300 BST 09/10/20

Follow Sporting Life on social - find us on or tweet

Related football content

Responsible gambling

We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit .

Further support and information can be found at and .