Sweden vs Belgium preview

May 31, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Belgium vs LuxembourgFollowing the narrow defeat to neighbours Denmark, Sweden hope to end a two-match losing run against very good Belgium side.

The Red Devils began their World Cup preparations with a 5-1 triumph over Luxembourg, but the game at Friends Arena in Solna will be their first real test.

Sweden did well to win the second place in their qualifying group behind Germany, but Erik Hamren’s side were unlucky to be pitted against Portugal in the play-offs.

And even though they showed some promise in both matches, Blagult ended up losing 4-2 on aggregate to miss out on the tournament finals.

The team did win their first two fixtures in 2014, defeating Moldova and Iceland on the road, but back to back losses to Turkey and Denmark certainly destabilized the atmosphere in the squad.

With players already thinking about summer holidays, nobody was surprised to see Blagult lose to Denmark, but boss Erik Hamren will demand a response from his players after what was a very disappointing performance.

But, given that star player Zlatan Ibrahimovic rarely performs in these kinds of matches, there is almost no value in backing Sweden at 3.40 (12/5).

Per Nilsson and Marcus Berg miss out through injury, while Daniel Larsson has withdrawn from the squad as he is in contract talks with Granada.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-1-2): Isaksson – Lustig, Granqvist, Antonsson, Bengtsson – S. Larsson, Wernbloom, Kallstrom – Ibrahimovic – Elmander, Toivonen.

Having shown a great deal of potential in the World Cup qualifying campaign, Belgium are rightly considered one of the dark horses in Brazil.

The Red Devils won their qualifying group in style, winning eight and drawing two games when facing Croatia, Serbia, Scotland, Wales and FYR Macedonia.

And while they could only muster a 2-2 draw with Ivory Coast back in March, Belgium enjoyed a 5-1 win over Luxembourg in their first warm-up game for the tournament finals.

Even if they will now face a much tougher task, the Red Devils look a good bet to defeat Sweden as well at odds of 2.30 (13/10).

Boss Marc Wilmost will have Simon Mignolet and Thibaut Courtois back in contention, but Nicolas Lombaerts and Koen Casteels are set to miss out.

He will make just a couple of changes to the side that defeated Luxembourg, with Moussa Dembele, Daniel Van Buyten and Dries Mertens set to start.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Mignolet – Alderweireld, Kompany, Van Buyten, Vermaelen – Witsel, Dembele – Mertens, de Bruyne, Hazard – Lukaku.

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