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THE NATIONS LEAGUE takes center stage this weekend as the Premier League has a well deserved break.
After Portugal were outscored by France in a fierce duel, scoring our under 2.5 goals, England’s World Cup rematch with Belgium steals the spotlight.
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Belgium vs England – Sunday 7:45 pm (Sky Sports)
Ahh, how we long for 2018.
You could go to a game, sit in the pub, watch your friends, and England were a bright and brave young team attacking.
Fast-forward two years and Gareth Southgate is under pressure to deliver after a string of poor and uninspired results since football returned from lockdown.
However, it is certainly not all doom and gloom, as the Three Lions are already entered for the European Championship next summer.
And the B side wore the role in the win over Ireland in the middle of the week.
You could say that Southgate is simply experimenting with his pack ahead of a major tournament.
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But just three goals in four Nations League games is not the England we expected and many are calling for Southgate to break free of the shackles.
It was a strange match at Wembley when these teams met there last month and the Three Lions somehow managed a 2-1 victory.
Belgium have won their other three Nations League matches comfortably and rank first in Group 2.
However, a victory for the visitors here would see Southgate’s men return to the top.
See, why all the fuss?
England will have to be infinitely better than their 1-0 loss to Denmark, in which they could never get going against a well-organized opposition.
Belgium will attack here and attack with speed, so don’t expect Southgate to abandon his holding midfielder experiment.
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When it comes to betting, the locals have an excellent 11/8 despite being undefeated at home since September 2016.
That makes 4/11 able to get Belgium to win or pull off an outright steal, and definitely one to recharge their accumulators.
As much as we would love to return to the England that wrecked Spain on that glorious October night two years ago, we are not holding our breath.
England may have only been on the road twice so far this calendar year, but they have only managed 5 shots on goal in games against Demnark and Iceland.
This is a big step forward.
Four of Belgium’s last six games have seen three or more goals, including the 2-1 setback in London.
Despite England’s stingy outings on the road, we expect goals in this one at a very affordable price.
Over 2.5 goals is 17/20, while we are also a huge fan of Belgium to win EITHER half with a huge 7/10.
Romelu Lukaku has thrived since leaving the Premier League and is fast becoming one of the best shooters in Europe.
He’s 10 in 11 games so far in 2020/21, including against England last month, so it shouldn’t be 6/4 to score anytime on Sunday. Get on.
The best SunSport bets
Peru vs Argentina, Wednesday 00:30 a. M.
No matter the euros, South America has a World Cup fever.
Argentina and Peru collide in Lima as Lionel Messi seeks to lead his country to the Finals, and perhaps one last chance at the elusive gong.
The home team is in the midst of an impressive streak of form and has not won a competitive game since July 2019, although it surprised Brazil on 12/1 in a Rio friendly.
Argentina is entering this at a good time, and in direct parallel with the hosts they have not lost since July last year.
Banker out then, right?
Well, not so fast: Argentina in its travels is not a gift and it has not beaten Peru in its last three visits here.
All of those matches ended in draws, the most recent being a World Cup qualifier in 2016.
The Argentines seemed to have won it through Gonzalo Higuaín with a late goal, but they were dominated at all times and Peru deserved the equalizer from the penalty spot.
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As demonstrated in Bolivia, Argentina is not a skilled attacking force and had to come from behind after handling just 43 percent of the possession.
Simply put, don’t expect this to be a ride.
Argentina have conceded in their last four visits to Peru and the home team, despite their recent poor form, managed to score two goals against Brazil last time out.
Therefore, both teams to score are up for grabs with a generous 8/11, while Peru also tempts us to score more than once with 11/4.
Messi dreams of lifting the World Cup and it is the only thing he has left that he has not won.
The magician has three in his last two games, but none for his country this season.
All that can change in Lima: score Messi’s first goal at 3/1.
SunSport’s best bets
* All odds are Ladbrokes and correct at time of publication.
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