Belgium vs Slovakia Prediction: Lukaku to banish World Cup woes in Frankfurt

Belgium and Slovakia open their Euro 2024 campaigns by facing off against each other at the Frankfurt Arena on Monday evening (17:00, ITV 1), just after the conclusion of the other game in their group - Romania vs Ukraine.

Below you can find my Belgium vs Slovakia predictions as well as all the latest team news and match odds heading into this Group E clash.

Team News

Belgium sprung a surprise to the casual observer when they omitted Thibaut Courtois from their squad last month, despite the Real Madrid goalkeeper returning to fitness and playing in his side's triumphant Champions League final on June 1.

Instead, Koen Casteels will be Domenico Tedesco's number one in Germany, and Wout Faes and Axel Witsel could line up in front of him with Jan Vertonghen and Arthur Teate ruled out of their first fixture.

Thomas Meunier has also been sent home after suffering an injury in a friendly with Luxembourg last week, which should mean Timothy Castagne and Maxim De Cuyper at full-back.

Youri Tielemans didn't feature in either of Belgium's friendlies this month due to injury and is unlikely to start on Monday, paving the way for a midfield trio of Amadou Onana, Orel Mangala and Kevin De Bruyne.

Romelu Lukaku is certain to start up top and the Chelsea striker is likely to be flanked by Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard, though Johan Bakayoko is also knocking on the door.

Slovakia goalkeeper Martin Dubravaka lined up behind a four-man defence of Peter Petarik, Denis Vavro, Milan Skriniar and David Hancko in a 4-0 victory over Wales on Sunday, and that looks set to be their backline in their group opener.

An experienced midfield trio of Juraj Kucka, Stanislav Lobotka and Ondrej Duda will look to shackle De Bruyne and co, with Lukas Haraslin, Robert Bozenik and probably Tomas Suslov looking to cause problems in attack.

Belgium vs Slovakia Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Belgium vs Slovakia page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Belgium are 1/2 to open their Euros campaign with a victory, giving them an implied win probability of 66.7%, while Slovakia can be backed at 6/1, or a 14.3% chance, to pull off a shock.

The draw is available at 100/30, both teams to score at 5/6, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Romelu Lukaku first goalscorer @ 11/4

Lukaku tore through Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan and Estonia to finish as top scorer in Euro 2024 qualifying, four ahead of his nearest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 31-year-old has a sensational international record, scoring 85 goals in 115 caps, and enjoyed a productive season on loan at AS Roma, netting 21 times in all competitions for the Giallorossi.

Unsurprisingly, he is the shortest price (9/10) to score anytime on Monday, but we can boost those odds by backing him to find the net first in Frankfurt.

Lukaku opened the scoring on three separate occasions in qualifying and did so in Belgium's most recent match, a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg in an international friendly on Saturday.

Slovakia have some decent defenders, but I don't think they will be able to live with Lukaku, who is looking to restore his name on the international scene after a forgettable 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Belgium to win to nil @ 7/5

Belgium have won four of their last six games, keeping a clean sheet in five of them, and they shut out the opposition in half (4/8) of their qualifiers.

Slovakia thrashed Wales and San Marino 4-0 in friendlies earlier this month, but those teams are nowhere near the level of Belgium and cannot be used as any sort of yardstick.

The Falcons scored 17 goals across 10 qualifiers but that was the same amount as Iceland, who finished 12 points below them. They struck twice in a 3-2 defeat to Portugal in October but also failed to fire in a 1-0 defeat to them a month prior.

Individually, I'm not a big fan of Belgium's defenders, but they have worked well as a unit under Tedesco and will be coming up against a Slovakia side lacking star quality in attack, so I'm happy to back a Belgium win to nil on Monday.

Correct Score - Belgium 2-0 @ 6/1

A victory and a clean sheet will do for Tedesco and his team, but I think they will add to Lukaku's opener, and it wouldn't surprise me if he bagged a brace to secure a 2-0 win for his country.

Belgium don't need a big win and Slovakia don't need to go all out themselves, as a low-scoring defeat may not actually be the worst thing for them in the long run.

Place an In-Play bet of £10 or more odds of 1/2+ on Romania v Ukraine or Belgium v Slovakia and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Austria v France.

You can read all our latest Euro 2024 Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.