Belgium will expect to return to winning ways when they travel to Estonia on Tuesday.

The hosts have picked up only one point from their opening two qualifying games in Group F.

Match preview

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Having already been drawn together in four qualifying campaigns since the turn of the century, Estonia must be sick of the sight of Belgium, especially having lost all eight of those meetings.

In fairness, Estonia have scored in three of their last four matches against Belgium, illustrating that they are capable of having their moments despite their lowly world ranking of 108th.

Sinisargid have never qualified for a major tournament in their entire history, with their closest effort being when losing to Republic of Ireland in a playoff for Euro 2012.

After losing to Austria in their opening game before squandering a one-goal lead against Azerbaijan on Saturday, it seems improbable that Thomas Haberli's side will be competing in Germany next summer, especially if they lose to Belgium once again.

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Belgium, on the other hand, will have every intention of reaching their sixth successive major tournament, with Domenico Tedesco enjoying a decent start to life since being appointed as the nation's head coach in February.

The former RB Leipzig boss helped his players dispatch Sweden 3-0 in their opening qualifying game in March, before defeating Germany 3-2 in a friendly in Cologne four days later.

However, Tedesco and his players had less luck against another German opponent last time out, with former Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick leading Austria to a point after claiming a 1-1 draw at King Baudouin Stadium.

As such, Das Team remain three points clear of Belgium having played one game more, but with two automatic qualification spots up for grabs, Belgium remain in a strong position to compete for their first ever major trophy next summer.

Team News

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Having performed well despite dropping two points in Azerbaijan on Saturday, Switzerland-born Haberli is unlikely to make any alterations to his starting XI for the challenge against Belgium.

As such, captain Konstantin Vassiljev is set to make his 152nd cap for his country, with the Flora midfielder turning 39-years-old later this year.

Belgium, meanwhile, could look to freshen things up after only drawing against Austria, with midfielder Aster Vranckx primed to make his first start after making his international debut from the bench on Saturday.

Lois Openda could join Romelu Lukaku in attack, after the Inter Milan forward bagged his 73rd international goal in 107 caps to rescue a point for Tedesco's side.

Estonia possible starting lineup:
Hein; Peetson, Mets, Kuusk; Lukka, Miller, Kait, Vassiljev, Sinyavskiy; Anier, Sappinen

Belgium possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Faes, Bornauw, Theate; Castagne, Vranckx, Tielemans, Vanaken, Carrasco; Openda, Lukaku

We say: Estonia 1-3 Belgium

Both teams play offensive 3-5-2 formations, which has helped create very open matches when these two teams have met in recent years.

However, despite missing Kevin De Bruyne through injury, Belgium clearly possess far more individual quality and they should comfortably win.


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Written by
Brett Curtis

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