Finland v Belgium predictions: De Bruyne can pull the strings in another victory

Free Euro 2020 football tips, best bets and analysis for Finland v Belgium in Group B on Monday.

Where to watch

BBC1, 8pm Monday

Best bet

K De Bruyne man of the match
1pt 7-2 bet365

Belgium's star midfielder lit up their 2-1 win against Denmark after entering the fray as a half-time substitute, scoring the second goal and he looks set to have another huge impact in their final group game.

Team news

Finland
Jukka Raitala is expected to recover from a calf problem, while Nikolai Alho is pushing for a recall at right-back.

Belgium
Timothy Castagne will miss the remainder of the Euros with a head injury. Kevin De Bruyne looks set to start alongside Axel Witsel and Eden Hazard but Thorgan Hazard has not travelled.

Match preview

They may not have found themselves in a group of death, but there is little doubt Belgium are flying and it would be a huge surprise if they failed to make it three wins from three when they face Finland in St Petersburg.

Russia were incomparable to the team that reached the quarter-finals of the last World Cup when they were brushed aside 3-0 and while Denmark rode on charged emotions against Roberto Martinez's side to take the lead in their last game in Copenhagen, it only seemed a matter of time before Belgium took a grip of proceedings.

The second-half introduction of Kevin De Bruyne was the catalyst for the transformation and no one was left doubting whether he was still suffering from the effects of the facial injuries that cut short his Champions League final.

Martinez's team are in a strong position and seem to be coping with the hype as well as at any time since this talented group of players emerged on the international stage.

Hopes are high, but they look capable of living up to them. When you have a striker of Romelu Lukaku's quality it is hard not to be confident, particularly when someone of De Bruyne's calibre can feed him opportunities.

The Red Devils have netted five goals in two games and they could have had more.

You get the impression they are just getting started and while Martinez has the resources to keep his stars fresh, that shouldn't mean De Bruyne is benched again as we have seen him for only 45 minutes. This looks set to be a game which the Manchester City maestro can dominate.

While Belgium have a good chance of matching their expectations, many may feel Finland have already exceeded theirs.

The circumstances of their victory over Denmark following Christian Eriksen's collapse meant their abilities were perhaps hard to judge and their performance in their 1-0 loss to Russia was disappointing.

It looked good when Joel Pohjanpalo was unfortunate to have his early diving header chalked off for offside, but the Finns were unable to make much headway and Norwich striker Teemu Pukki was substituted after failing to make much of an impression.

It was almost as if Markku Kanerva's side did not possess the belief that they could gain a second victory that would have pushed them through to the knockout stages of their first major tournament.

And if they don't possess that sort of confidence against an outfit who looked listless in their opening encounter, it has to be doubtful that they will discover any inner belief up against the number-one ranked team in the world.

With De Bruyne pulling the strings, it looks likely that the Belgians will claim three points and it would be no surprise if he puts in a man-of-the-match performance.

Key stat

Belgium have lost just one of their last 25 matches.

Inside info

Finland

Penalty taker Teemu Pukki
Free-kick wizard Jere Uronen
Set-piece aerial threat Paulus Arajuuri
Card magnet Tim Sparv

Belgium

Penalty taker Romelu Lukaku
Free-kick wizardKevin de Bruyne
Set-piece aerial threatJan Vertonghen
Card magnetAxel Witsel

Lowdown

Venue Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
Fans allowed 34,000
Time Zone BST +2 hour
Weather Scattered thunderstorms, 27C
FIFA rankings Finland (54), Belgium (1)
Head-to-heads Friendly Aug 2010 - Finland 1-0 Belgium.
Friendly Feb 2011 - Belgium 1-1 Finland
Friendly June 2016 - Belgium 1-1 Finalnd

Bet builder

Romelu Lukaku to score at any time
Lukaku claimed a brace in the 3-0 win over Russia and the return of De Bruyne for 90 minutes should provide the Inter striker with plenty of opportunities.

Glen Kamara to be shown a card
The Rangers midfielder could be in for a busy night trying to stop the rampant Belgians. He was booked in Finland's defeat to Russia and could go in the notebook again.

Over 2.5 goals
Finland will look to sting their opponents with an early goal, just as Denmark did, but Belgium's classy attack are capable of scoring at will.

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