England vs Belgium Prediction: Another dull Wembley affair?

England will return to Wembley to host Belgium on Tuesday night (19:45), having suffered a rare defeat on home soil on Saturday. Brazil managed to nullify the Three Lions’ attack, before teenage sensation Endrick scored late on to hand England their first Wembley defeat in 21 matches. 

Gareth Southgate will head back to the drawing board here ahead of another friendly against Belgium, with the clear intention of giving his fringe players a chance to prove themselves. Below you can find my England vs Belgium prediction, including team news and a couple of betting selections for you to consider.

Team News

This England squad certainly isn’t as strong as the one that will be heading to Germany in June. Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Sam Johnstone have all left the camp following the Brazil match, while Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane have also returned to their clubs. 

Ivan Toney is likely to start this one after Ollie Watkins was given 90 minutes against Brazil, while Kobbie Mainoo, James Maddison and Cole Palmer could also be included in the starting XI. Jordan Henderson is also expected to feature having returned to training. 

For Belgium, Domenico Tedesco is likely to ring the changes after his much-changed XI drew 0-0 with Ireland. The likes of Amadou Onana, Jeremy Doku and Thomas Meunier are all likely to come into the starting line-up, while Kevin De Bruyne dropped out of the squad last week. 

Match Odds

England are 4/5 to win this game, with Belgium priced at 100/30. A draw can be backed at 13/5, BTTS is 5/6 and over 2.5 goals is 10/11.

Under 2.5 goals @ 4/5

England games at Wembley have the tendency to be slightly boring. The fixture against Brazil on Saturday was lacking in both attacking quality and atmosphere, and after a defeat, I expect to see something similar here. The Three Lions are missing two key attackers in Saka and Kane and although Toney is likely to start, it’s clear England are lacking first-choice players across the pitch. 

Defensively, we are likely to see rotation as well with Maguire and Walker both out, and after Belgium failed to impress in their 0-0 draw last time out against Ireland, I can see another dull affair unfolding here. I think this could be a one-goal game either way, with under 2.5 goals the standout market here. 

Ivan Toney to score anytime @ 8/5

Southgate is likely to hand Toney his first international start against Belgium, talking about the Brentford striker after he was left on the bench against Brazil. 

"With England that's the landscape, you don't get hundreds of opportunities,” the manager said. “I think every player recognises that's the world we live in. But he's a confident guy, he comes in on the back of a good run of form with his club. He's going to be on the field on Tuesday, no question.”

Given he is near-certain to start, I’m happy to back him to find the net at some point, even though I believe this will be a low-scoring game. Without Kane, he will be on penalties, while he is also going to be the focal point for England, with a point to prove. He’s the most likely goalscorer, and the 8/5 on offer is backable. 

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