When Marc Wilmot's Belgium side host Iceland at the King Baudouin Stadium for an international friendly on Wednesday night, each side will have one eye firmly on their weekend Euro 2016 qualification fixtures as they look for the ideal midweek preparation. One would expect this to be a lively, attacking affair without much importance placed on the final result.
Belgium have looked in good shape in recent months since their narrow 1-0 exit at this summer's World Cup at the hands of Argentina - Gonzalo Higuain's strike the difference in a tightly fought quarter-final encounter. Wilmot's has taken his young, promising side and started to build for the future - starting with Euro 2016. Group B has gone reasonably well for the Red Devils thus far, with four points from two games, and they sit in a comfortable third place. They go into Sunday's qualification match against Wales after a 6-0 victory over Andorra and a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Manager Wilmot's confirmed his starting eleven for their warm up match against Iceland on Wednesday, with the likes of Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj and Marouane Fellaini, and Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen set to start. Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois will retain his place between the sticks, and his team-mate Eden Hazard will start on the flank. Aston's Villa's Christian Benteke will lead the line, while Southampton's Toby Alderweireld will slot into defence in what is a strong line-up for the Red Devils.
Iceland have had arguably the best possible start to their current Euro 2016 qualifying campaign as they look to focus on this Sunday's top-of-the-table clash against the Czech Republic. Along with the Czech Republic side, Lars Lagerback's Iceland have taken maximum points from their opening three Group A matches, and sit atop the table on goal difference. Impressive wins against the Netherlands, Latvia and Turkey have seen them score eight goals without reply, and they are currently full of confidence.
With both teams in good form and the nature of the friendly offering both sides the chance to try out a few things and take a couple of risks, expect a costless-flowing, open affair with Belgium and Iceland ideally looking to prepare themselves for the weekend fixtures. It's a tough one to call, but it will be friendly worth switching on the television for.