France and Belgium meet for the second time in little over a week tonight, and there is plenty more riding on the return fixture in Paris.
Zinedine Zidane’s side won 1-0 in Brussels thanks to Michael Olise’s 88th-minute goal, but they couldn’t make it three straight victories on Friday. Olise scored again against Italy before Alessandro Bastoni equalised in a 1-1 draw. Dayot Upamecano was also sent off late on.
Belgium responded to that defeat in impressive fashion. Kevin De Bruyne scored twice as Mark van Bommel’s side beat Türkiye 3-0, leaving them just one point behind France at the top of Group A1.
There is a catch for Belgium tonight, though. De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans are both suspended for the trip to the Stade de France.
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What are the best betting tips for France vs Belgium?
France to win
France haven’t exactly blown teams away under Zidane, but they have been extremely difficult to beat.
They opened with consecutive 1-0 victories over Türkiye and Belgium before Friday’s 1-1 draw with Italy. That leaves France unbeaten with seven points from nine and just one goal conceded.
The absence of De Bruyne and Tielemans makes the home win considerably more appealing.
De Bruyne was the difference against Türkiye, scoring twice, while Tielemans has been an important part of Van Bommel’s midfield. Losing both for arguably Belgium’s toughest group fixture is significant.
France also know exactly how to frustrate Belgium. They restricted them to very little in the reverse meeting before Olise eventually settled it late on.
Home advantage and Belgium’s midfield absences should give Zidane’s side the edge again.
Michael Olise 2+ shots
Olise has quickly become one of the key players of the Zidane era.
The Bayern Munich attacker scored the winner against Belgium last week before finding the net again against Italy on Friday. He now has two goals in his opening three Nations League appearances this season.
With Kylian Mbappé unavailable, France have needed someone else to become the focal point of their attack.
Olise has done exactly that.
Belgium are likely to defend deeper away from home, particularly without De Bruyne and Tielemans to help them control possession. That should leave Olise seeing plenty of the ball around the edge of the final third.
Rather than asking him to score for a third consecutive match, two attempts gives us a little more room.
France to win & under 3.5 goals
Zidane’s France haven’t been particularly interested in chaos so far.
Their three results under him in this Nations League campaign have been 1-0, 1-0 and 1-1. France have scored only three times, but they’ve conceded just once.
The first meeting with Belgium followed exactly that pattern.
Van Bommel’s side have plenty of attacking quality, especially with Romelu Lukaku leading the line, but removing De Bruyne and Tielemans should make it considerably harder for Belgium to create chances.
France are also without suspended defender Upamecano, so a Belgium goal isn’t impossible.
Still, another controlled France performance looks more likely than this suddenly turning into a five-goal shootout.
Backing France alongside under 3.5 goals gives us a more interesting price than simply taking the hosts outright.
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Where can I watch France vs Belgium?
France host Belgium at the Stade de France tonight, Monday, October 5, with kick-off at 7:45 pm BST.
In the UK, the match is available live through Prime Video UK.
What have the managers said?
Zinedine Zidane:
Zidane remains unbeaten after his first three competitive matches as France manager, although Friday’s draw with Italy denied him a first home victory.
Speaking ahead of Belgium, he stressed that France are still developing under his management.
“I am very satisfied with the mentality I have seen so far.”
The France boss added:
“I know it will take time.”
Zidane also made his intentions clear despite the early stage of his rebuild:
“We always want to win. We are competitors.”
France enter tonight top of Group A and victory would move them four points clear of Belgium with two matches remaining.
Mark van Bommel:
Van Bommel knows Belgium will have to improve on last week’s meeting if they are to leave Paris with anything.
However, the former Netherlands midfielder believes the 1-0 defeat in Brussels was closer than the result suggests.
“France have an exceptional amount of quality.”
Van Bommel added:
“In the first match, however, we should have taken at least a point.”
Belgium arrive without two of their most influential midfielders, but Van Bommel remains confident.
“We have to be top in all areas.”
The Belgium boss was also critical of his team’s possession despite Friday’s comfortable win over Türkiye, suggesting there is still plenty to improve despite the 3-0 scoreline.
What is France’s predicted team?
(4-3-3) Maignan; Kalulu, Jacquet, Lacroix, Truffert; Cherki, Da Cunha, Camavinga; Olise, Dembélé, Doué.
Injured: Kylian Mbappé, Warren Zaïre-Emery.
Suspended: Dayot Upamecano, Mattéo Guendouzi.
Upamecano misses out following his red card against Italy, while Guendouzi is also suspended. Zaïre-Emery is unavailable through injury.
Olise should keep his place after scoring in consecutive matches, while Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué are options to complete the front three.
What is Belgium’s predicted team?
(4-3-3) Lammens; Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele, De Cuyper; Raskin, Lavia, Vanaken; Lukebakio, Lukaku, Godts.
Suspended: Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans.
De Bruyne and Tielemans both picked up their second yellow cards of the Nations League campaign against Türkiye and serve one-match bans tonight.
Their absence should bring Hans Vanaken into the midfield, while Nicolas Raskin and Romeo Lavia are also available to Van Bommel.
Romelu Lukaku should continue through the middle after scoring his 94th international goal against Türkiye.
France vs Belgium prediction
There hasn’t been much between these teams recently, and another tight game looks likely.
France needed an 88th-minute Olise goal to win in Brussels and haven’t scored more than once in any of Zidane’s first three Nations League matches.
But Belgium couldn’t have picked a worse game to lose De Bruyne and Tielemans.
Van Bommel still has Lukaku, Dodi Lukebakio, Charles De Ketelaere and Mika Godts available, but removing that much creativity from midfield changes the complexion of the game.
France have conceded only once under Zidane and should have enough attacking quality to find another breakthrough at the other end.
Don’t expect fireworks. France by the odd goal again.
Score prediction: France 1-0 Belgium
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