Euro 2008
2007-11-17 - Poland vs Belgium
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
17 November 2007 20:30 CET
Slaski - Chorzo
Poland started the group with a 1-3 upset home loss to Finland but since then have been very impressive in powering to the top of Group A - and the Poles will clinch qualification with a win in this game.
Poland gained a lot of confidence from beating Portugal and have been efficient in beating three "make-weight" international sides at home to continue their progress.
Belgium have shown that they can compete at home with wins over Serbia, Armenia but when travelling this Belgian side have shown little resiliance against anyone except the minnows.
Poland won the first match 1-0 in Brussels with Radoslaw Matusiak scoring the winning goal as Poland did most of the pressing.
(see this UEFA report with video highlights here )
TEAM NEWS
Poland : Wisla Krakow midfielder Dariusz Dudka will miss out after breaking his ankle to be with Legia Warszawa wing-back Tomasz Kiełbowicz.
Belgium : coach Rene Vandereycken has responded to a raft of injuries by calling up four new players for the game against Poland.
Timmy Simons, Nicolas Lombaerts, Gaby Mudingayi, Geert De Vlieger, François Sterchele and Wesley Sonck are all out while midfielder Karel Geraerts remains a fitness doubt.
THE STATS
Poland have won their last four games at home and are 12-4-4 since 2001.
Poland Home Form (4-1-1)
13/10/07 W 3-1 v Kazakhstan
28/03/07 W 1-0 v Armenia
24/03/07 W 5-0 v Azerbaijan
11/10/06 W 2-1 v Portugal
06/09/06 D 1-1 v Serbia
02/09/06 L 1-3 v Finland
Belgium have been slumping during this group and are winless in their last four road games.
Belgium Away Form (1-1-3)
12/09/07 D 2-2 v Kazakhstan
06/06/07 L 0-2 v Finland
24/03/07 L 0-4 v Portugal
07/10/06 L 0-1 v Serbia
06/09/06 W 1-0 v Armenia
Head to Head Form
15/11/06 Belgium 0-1 Poland
THE VERDICT
I expect Poland to confirm their place in the finals with a win here.
The Pick :
Poland 2-0 Belgium
