Having failed to impress in the group stage despite winning all their fixtures, Belgium will have to show an improvement if they want to beat a surprisingly resilient USA side.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s men are determined to keep the rich vein of form after pipping Portugal to the second place in their group and they are relishing the underdogs tag.

It can be said that Belgium did live up to the expectations having won all three group matches, but their performances were well below par.

The Red Devils were lucky that the opponents they faced in the group stage were far from their best when facing Marc Wilmots’ side, but the reality is they will have to seriously raise their game in order to reach the quarter-finals.

Poor form of striker Romelu Lukaku is one of the main concerns, although his back up Divock Origi has managed to prove he can successfully compete at this level.

And with some important players doubtful through injury, there doesn’t seem to be value in odds of 2.05 (21/20) offered on home win.

Both Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen remain major injury doubts and the boss has suggested he will only use them if they are fully recovered.

Meanwhile, a number of starters will be recalled to the side after they were rested in the final group fixture against Korea Republic.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Courtois – Alderweireld, Van Buyten, Vermaelen, Vertonghen – Witsel, Fellaini – Mertens, De Bruyne, Hazard – Lukaku.

Unlike their next opponents, USA have managed to exceed expectations in the group stage, producing three very good displays against some of world’s top sides.

While many were surprised by their 2-1 triumph over Ghana, strong performances against Portugal and Germany proved Jurgen Klinsmann’s charges fully deserve their place in the Last 16 stage.

And with Belgium going through a very rough patch at the moment, bear in mind Team USA are 2.88 (17/9) to qualify.

It was the five-man midfield that did a tremendous job in matches against Portugal and Germany, meaning the boss is unlikely to revert to a two-man attack despite the return of Jozy Altidore.

The Sunderland forward has recovered from a hamstring problem, but he will probably be introduced as a second-half substitute.

Having said that, Jurgen Klinsmann should stick to the same side that matched Germany for large periods of the game in Recife.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Howard – Johnson, Gonzalez, Besler, Beasley – Beckerman, Jones – Zusi, Bradley, Davis – Dempsey.