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Euro Betting – Belgium Face a Wales of a Challenge

Eric Thompson

by Eric Thompson in News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

Wales (+425) vs Belgium (-135), Draw (+250)

As ridiculous at FIFA’s ranking system is, for 90 minutes on Sunday, Belgium (3-1-0) certainly looked the part of the second-best team in the world. Now the Red Devils will carry the momentum of a 4-0 drubbing of Hungary into another match where they’re sizable favorites. Can the Belgians continue to live up to lofty expectations against a Wales (3-1-0) team that’s playing with house money? Find out today when the two meet at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille (3:00 PM Eastern).

Eden Hazard finally awoke from a hibernation that lasted the entire Premier League season, as the midfielder was the most dynamic player in Belgium’s Round of 16 win, scoring a goal and setting up another. However, Belgium faced a bit of a scare this week after Hazard – the tournament leader in assists – missed training with a hip injury. He should be good to play in the quarters, but if he’s limited at all, it could slow down Belgium’s quick-strike attack.

Wales have already exceeded expectations in their first ever Euro, finishing at the top of Group B and dispatching Northern Ireland (1-0) to reach the final eight. But it’s understandable why this team thinks they’re still capable of more. Led by the player of the tournament (so far), Gareth Bale, the Welsh are certainly capable of pulling off the upset. Bale has three goals in the Euros , and the own goal that gave them the win over Northern Ireland came off one of his redirected crosses.

The Dragons’ confidence will also get a boost from glancing back at the tournament qualifiers. They were able to frustrate the Belgian offense in both meetings, winning 1-0 at home and drawing 0-0 on the road. Of course, the last meeting came over a year ago, so if the strides Belgium have made since then are to be believed, keeping another clean sheet will require a whole lot of Febreeze.

The Welsh pantry hasn’t exactly been stocked with metaphorical cleaning products this tournament. The defense has done a good job channeling chances away from the net, but the goalkeeping hasn’t been stellar. Of 11 shots they’ve allowed on target, three went for goals. (For comparison, Belgian goalie Thibaut Courtois has allowed two goals on 17 shots.) If the Dragons are to pull off the upset, they’ll need Wayne Hennessey to come up with some key saves.

Wales has put together a strong tournament so far, but the Red Devils are figuratively hot as hell. I don’t think Wales will be able to stop this attack again. Take Belgium with confidence.

Pick: Belgium (-135).

(Photo Credit: Magharebia [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)

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