Belarus vs Luxembourg
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Monday, 10th October 2016
Kick-off: 19:45 UK
Venue: Borisov Arena, Borisov.
Despite their good form, Belarus crumbled under pressure when they visited football giants Netherlands on Friday. They went into the game with just one defeat from their last nine games, including a goalless draw at home to France in September.
However, away from home they lost 4-1 to a Netherlands side who had lost five matches on the bounce on Dutch soil. In all honesty they probably expected to lose the game, but it will still hurt that they missed the best opportunity they will get to get something from a game like this.
Overall Belarus are in decent shape though, having won four, drawn four, and lost two of their last ten matches in all competitions. At home they are unbeaten in three matches, with their only win in these three games coming against none other than Luxembourg back in September 2015. Realistically Belarus don’t have much of a chance of outqualifying France, Netherlands, or Sweden to the two potential World Cup spots, but they will be hoping for a decent showing against the lesser teams in the group.
Luxembourg are undoubtedly one of these lesser teams. Their 1-0 loss at home to Sweden on Friday made it seven defeats on the bounce for them and they have only won two games in the last three years of football.
The overwhelming majority of these games have ended in defeat for them as well, and away from home it gets even worse. They haven’t won a game on the road since a 2-1 win over Switzerland back in 2008. 22 of their 26 away days since then have ended in defeat, which unsurprisingly leads to them finishing very close to the bottom of their qualifying tables.
At home Luxembourg have the grit and determination to limit the opponents scoring chances, but away from home that disappears. They have conceded 37 goals in their last 12 away days, translating to an average of just over three per game.
Belarus aren’t the best side going forward though, but they rely on a solid back line at home. They have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five home games, including one in the 2-0 win over Luxembourg. I think odds of 20/21 for a Belarus Win to Nil is good value for money, so I’m backing that along with a repeat 2-0 correct score prediction at 9/2.
Belarus have won four, drawn three, and lost one of their eight meetings with Luxembourg.
Belarus have kept a clean sheet in 80% of their last five home games, whilst Luxembourg have failed to score in 67% of their last six on the road.
Belarus vs Luxembourg: Head-to-Head Stats
Belarus and Luxembourg will be coming face-to-face for the 9th time on Monday for a qualifying fixture. Out of the previous 8 meetings, Belarus had won 4, drawn 3 and lost 1 against Luxembourg.
While playing at home, Belarus have won in 3 of the 4 qualifiers against Luxembourg while they lost once. They had kept clean sheets in each of the three wins.
Luxembourg have managed to score only 3 goals in their 8 fixtures against Belarus, which also means that they failed to score on 5 occasions.
The teams met for the Euro 2016 Qualifiers and Belarus won their home match 2-0 after settling for a 1-1 draw in the away leg at Luxembourg.
Belarus vs Luxembourg: Prediction
Belarus will be keen to bounce back with a win after the humiliation suffered in the trip to Netherlands on Friday. Besides their good overall record against Luxembourg, they are a side capable of frustrating some big sides when playing in front of their home crowd. Luxembourg haven’t won an away match since 2008 and they are not expected to produce a surprise result in this qualifying fixture.
None of the 8 matches between Belarus and Luxembourg have seen more than 2 goals. Also the teams are known for their inability to make full use of their scoring chances. So under 2.5 goals is a good choice for this match.
Belarus vs Luxembourg: Betting Tips
Belarus to win first-half at 1.85
Under 2.5 goals for Belarus at 1.80.
