Belgium set to keep rivals quiet

Michy Batshuayi can make an impact in a comfortable Belgium win on Friday evening, according to our Matt Brocklebank.

Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco (C) celebrates with Michy Batshuayi (L) and Marouane Fellaini
Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco (C) celebrates with Michy Batshuayi (L) and Marouane Fellaini

Recommended bets

2pts Belgium to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina to nil

1pt Michy Batshuayi to score last in Belgium v Bosnia-Herzegovina 

1pt Netherlands v Belarus to be 0-0 at half-time

Belgium are one of the eight long odds-on shots on a nine-match World Cup qualifying coupon on Friday evening when they play host to Bosnia-Herzegovina and victory could prove a formality.

Morale is high in the Red Devils camp after a convincing win in their Group H opener against Cyprus, providing Roberto Martinez and assistant Thierry Henry with a positive start to their time at the helm.

Eden Hazard has spoken of his excitement at working under "hero" Henry, while stating that the new boss' Spanish style of play suits the players ideally.

There wasn't anything too flashy about Romelu Lukaku's scrambled header from a yard and a half out which opened the scoring against the Cypriots last month, but the favourites went on to complete the task 3-0 in decent fashion, Lukaku adding a second on the hour-mark and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco tapping home a third following Hazard's assist.

Despite the obvious disappointment over how they ultimately crashed out at the hands of Wales in France at Euro 2016, this vibrant Belgium squad have been a really tight bunch for a number of years now and you get the impression several of them still have their best years ahead of them.

Thibaut Courtois can be numbered among the best goalkeepers in the world and Toby Alderweireld could certainly stake a claim to be the best defender in the Premier League currently, but it's in advanced areas that Belgium possess a real wealth of options.

There are goals throughout this attack-minded side, something we saw in fits and starts at the European Championships, and it's no surprise the layers have a bunch of players around 2/1 or shorter to find the net against Bosnia, including the aforementioned stars Lukaku and Hazard.

Of those at slightly longer odds, Marouane Fellaini looks a fair price at 4/1 with one firm - nobody in this current Belgium squad has more international goals to their name - while Nacer Chadli may have worked his way into Martinez's thinking with three goals in his last three outings for West Brom. Kevin De Bruyne being out injured can only help his prospects, though competition for places in midfield is warm.

That's also the case up front and it's quite clear Lukaku and Christian Benteke - both on target for their clubs at Goodison Park last Friday night - are in top form.

Belgium tend to just go with one of the pair spear-heading their attack and then there's Divock Origi and Michy Batshuayi both champing at the bit having been starved of game time by Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.

Batshuayi in particular has a pretty explosive overall goalscoring record and already has three from just seven international appearances.

The 23-year-old netted from the substitutes' bench against Hungary at the Euros, something he did three times for Marseille last term and repeated for Chelsea against Watford earlier this season.

Given how desperate he will be to impress Martinez and club coach Antonio Conte, backing Batshuayi to have the final say here around 5/1 looks the way to get him on side.

As far as Bosnia are concerned, they top the group on goal difference after hammering Estonia at home, but they're not the best travellers, losing to Israel way back at the start of the Euro qualifiers and they also suffered defeat in the same campaign away to the Republic of Ireland as well as the Belgians last September.

Edin Dzeko scored the only goal for the visitors in a 3-1 reverse on that occasion and he's got six for club and country so far this season so is another striker seemingly at the peak of his powers.

However, he gets some first-class service from the likes of Daniel De Rossi, Francesco Totti and Mohammed Salah when in action for Roma and may find himself a little more isolated up against a quality Belgium outfit.

A clean sheet for the hosts looks a decent wager at even money but they should have too much firepower at the other end of the pitch and backing Belgium to win to nil appeals most at 7/5 in places.

France looked to be suffering with a bit of a Euros final hangover when opening Group A with a 0-0 draw in Belarus but should have little trouble teeing up their Monday clash against Holland with a home win over Bulgaria.

The Dutch face Belarus and should take heart from their 1-1 draw in Sweden last month, having fallen behind just before half-time.

Danny Blind is obviously going through something of a rebuilding process but their visitors can evidently be tricky customers and they've now kept seven clean sheets from their last nine appearances, including friendlies.

It's not hard to see them setting out to try and frustrate their rivals yet again and 0-0 at half-time rates a very fair 5/2 shot.

The other eyecatching match on the night sees Hungary play host to Switzerland. They both played their part in some exciting games at the Euros but Hungary were bitterly disappointing in their first World Cup qualification match, drawing 0-0 with the Faroe Islands, and it's very hard to know what to expect.

There should be a reaction but they'll have to raise their game massively to trouble the Swiss and may struggle to emerge on top even with a repeat of their performance in drawing 3-3 with eventual champions Portugal in the summer.

Switzerland brushed aside a Cristiano Ronaldo-less Portugal 2-0 on the opening night in Group B and rate solid market leaders here based on that display but possibly aren't a team to be steaming into at a short price.

Search