Belgium begin their Nations League campaign with a game against Israel at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Hungary on Friday night.
The two nations have been housed in Group A2 alongside European heavyweights France and Italy.
The Belgian’s didn’t pull up any trees at Euro 2024 earlier this summer, scraping through their group before being eliminated in the round of 16 by France.
The Red Devils look like a team in transition under Domenico Tedesco but they will be expected to hit the ground running on Friday night against Israel.
Ran Ben Shimon’s side secured promotion to to League A of the Nations League after defeating Albania 2-1 in their final game of the previous edition of the competition.
Having failed to qualify for a major tournament since the 1970 World Cup, Israel will be looking to make a mark when rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite across their six Group A2 assignments.
How the bookies view it: Belgium big favourites
Despite this game being played at a neutral venue, Belgium are odds-on 3/10 favourites on UniBet to collect all three points on Friday night.
Israel are as big as 10/1 with William Hill to kick off their campaign with a win while the 90 minute draw in Debrecen is also deemed unlikely at 9/2 with the same bookmaker.
Head to head: Red Devils rule the roost
Belgium have claimed top honours from six of the overall seven meetings between the pair, including each of the last three. The two nations last crossed paths back in Euro 2016 qualifying, with the Red Devils running out 3-1 winners in Brussels.
Players to watch: De Bruyne to deliver?
Kevin De Bruyne scored the last time Belgium went up against Israel and a repeat on Friday night can be baked at 7/4 on Bet 365.
Eliazar Dasa could have one of the toughest jobs on the park on Friday night when pitting his wits against Belgium livewire Jeremey Doku, making the Israel right-back an appealing option for a card at 15/4 on Bet 365.
Predicted line-ups
Fresh off the back of his move to Napoli, Romelu Lukaku has requested to be omitted from Belgium's squad so he can focus on his fitness.
After missing the second half of last season with a meniscus injury, Manor Solomon could make his first appearance for his country since September 2023.
Belgium: Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Debast, Theate; De Bruyne, Onana, Saelemaekers; Bakayoko, Openda, Doku
Israel: Glazer; Dasa, Shlomo, Nachmias, Grouper; Safuri, Lavi, Gordana; Biton, Zahavi, Peretz
Anything else catch the eye?
As already alluded to, Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer Romelu Lukaku has not been included in Domenico Tedesco’s sqaud for the forthcoming two fixtures, so the goalscoring onus could fall on Lois Openda.
The RB Leipzig forward has made a bright start to the Bundelsiga season, bagging a double in his side's 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Priced up at 5/4 (Bet 365), Opendna holds plenty of appeal to make the net bulge against Group A2 underdogs Israel on Friday night.
This UEFA Nations League match between Belgium and Israel will be played on Sep 6, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Belgium vs Israel prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
