BELARUS v FRANCE
Football : UEFA : EURO 2012 Qualifier : Group D
Friday, June 3rd, 2011 - Kickoff 7:45PM GMT

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BELARUS

Belarus have already played France, back in September. In keeping with the horror show that was France's World Cup showing, they lost at home 1-0. Belarus will now try to repeat that, with the advantage of playing this at home. However, a lot has changed since.

Since that win, Belarus have been shut out of 3 qualifying games with the only win coming against Albania 2-0. That win over France was a one-off and they were at the right place at the right time to take advantage of France. Home advantage seems to not count with this team as stats reveal they have won just 4 of their last 11 qualifying games here.

I read there are several injuries and suspensions to Belarus' best players and that will further reduce their chances of getting a win here. The very best this team can hope for is a draw and that really would be a big result against the current France squad.

FRANCE

Laurent Blanc took over the management of the French side after their catastrophic run in Africa last year and although he saw his side get humiliated at home by Belarus, he has engineered a revival and Les Bleus have gone on a cracking run since.

France have not lost in 7 games now, winning 6 of those. That includes 4 wins on the trot in Euro 2012 qualifying and they are now top of Group D as things stand. The team have also recorded wins over Brazil and England and the defence appears to be doing particularly well. Indeed, they have conceded just 1 goal in Euro qualifying, which came in Paris when they lost to their hosts for this game 1-0.

Nasri, Malouda, Ribery will feature, while players like N'Zogba will get a chance to make their mark too. Benzema should be good value to get on the scoresheet in this one. I feel there is a huge gulf in class here, especially with the Belarusians missing key players. France look the best bet, with a very outside chance of a draw.

BETTING VERDICT

I'm going with France to win this one and increase their lead in the Group.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

France to win

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take France to win @ 1.60 (Pinnacle)