We have reached the third and final round of fixtures In Group B of the 2021 European Championship. One of the games to be played is between Finland and Belgium, with the match being played at the Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg.
There is likely to be a significant contingent of Finnish supporters inside the stadium but they have their work cut out if they are going to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
Finland started their European Championship campaign with an excellent 1-0 win over Denmark at the Parken Stadium, Copenhagen.
However, the match will be remembered for different reasons and both teams did well to complete the match given the circumstances.
It was an historic moment in the history of Finnish football but they would have wanted it to come without the terrible incident involving Christian Eriksen.
Moving to their second game and Finland knew if they could take a point against Russia, it would probably be enough to see them qualify for the Round of 16.
Unfortunately for Finland, this was a second away fixture in succession and just as they were about to hold on for a 0-0 draw at half-time, Russia scored in the final seconds of the first half.
Finland could not get themselves back into the match in the second half and the game ended 1-0 to Russia.
Trends show Finland have seen under 2.5 goals in their last 3 games in all competitions.
Belgium come into the game having already secured their place in the knockout stages of the competition. They started their campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win over Russia in Saint Petersburg.
Belgium opened the scoring after only 10 minutes of the game and doubled their advantage before half-time. Russia could not get themselves back into the match and the Red Devils added a third 2 minutes from time.
Into the second fixture and it was another away match for Belgium as they faced Denmark in Copenhagen. The Danes came out of the blocks superbly in a passionate atmosphere and opened the scoring after only 2 minutes.
Belgium were poor for much of the first half but things changed following the introduction of Kevin De Bruyne. The Manchester City star created the equalising goal and scored the winning goal himself in the 70th minute.
Trends show no defeats can be found in Belgium's 8 most recent games in all competitions.
Team news and Finland are likely to set up with a defensive formation, including five at the back. The experienced Tim Sparv could come into midfield having missed out completely against Russia.
Belgium are set to rest several players for this game but we could see starts for both Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard as they aim to build their match fitness ahead of the knockout stages.
Finland need a point from this game and are likely to sit back, hoping to keep Belgium out.
However, even with changes to their starting XI, Belgium are likely to prove too strong for Finland and could win this game plus keep a clean sheet in the process.
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