EURO 2012 - FIRST ROUND OF GROUP GAMES

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Group A

5pm Friday 8^th June - Poland vs Greece

As co-hosts, Poland gained automatic entry into Euro 2012 and will be facing Euro 2004 champions Greece in the opening game of Euro 2012.Given opening matches of tournaments are usually tight and cagey affairs together with both the Greek and Polish side’s lacking any genuine creativity, Half Time/Full Time: Draw/Draw at 4/1 stands out as an obvious way to play things. However if you fancy the Greeks to get off to a scoring start then a bet on 22 year old Panathinaikos starlet Sotiris Ninis to score the first goal of the match at 16/1 offers value. For the Poles, Robert Lewandowski to score and Poland to win is priced at 5/2, which is attractive considering the striker has been in scintillating form for the German champions Borrusia Dortmund in the season just gone.  

7:45pm Friday 8^th June – Russia vs Czech Republic

Russia face the Czech Republic in the first evening game of the tournament, with expectations firmly on Russia to repeat their strong performance which was good enough for a semi-final showing in the 2008 European Championships in Switzerland and Austria. This tie features the recent European Championship tournament star names including Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky for the Czechs and Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko for Russia, but whether those players will have the impact this time around is doubtful. Taking the view Russia should have slightly too much for an ageing Czech team, a bet on 2-1 correct score in favour of Russia at 8/1 looks a decent pick. Also in view of both teams having been in strong goal scoring form of late, a bet on 4+ goals at 11/4 stands out.

Group B

5pm Saturday 9^th June – Holland vs Denmark

The much fancied Dutch face many pundits’ outsiders in Group B Denmark, in what should be a highly entertaining game between these northern European foes. The Dutch team has strength and depth in every department, but will be under pressure to secure all three points against Morten Olsen’s Danish side given Portugal and Germany await in latter group games. It’s hard to see anything but a Dutch victory in this one, with 11/8 for Half Time/Full Time: Holland/Holland offering an enticing bet for those who feel the Dutch will start strongly and win the match. Odds of 28/1 offered on goal machine Robin Van Persie to score first and Holland to beat the Danes 3-0 provides a weighty return for those who fancy Holland to win comfortably. Another noticeable bet which looks generous, is for both teams to score at evens, which considering the adventurous tendencies of the Dutch playing style offers value for those who believe the Danes are capable of breaching the Dutch defence.

7:45pm Saturday 9^th June – Germany vs Portugal

The tournament’s most complete team Germany face a Portuguese side with arguably the world’s most complete player in Cristiano Ronaldo. The German’s have a host of quality players to call upon with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze on the verge of world class status. A defeat for either team in this encounter could well end any hope of glory before they have even started. German captain, Bastian Schweinsteiger will be eager to make amends for his penalty miss in the Champions League final against Chelsea last month and is 14/1 to score first this time. Schweinsteiger’s Bayern Munich teammate Thomas Muller is a tempting 5/2 to score anytime for a player who was awarded the Golden Boot at the last World Cup in 2010. For those of you who fancy Ronaldo to score, but Germany to win the match should look at scorecast odds of 60/1 for Christano Ronaldo to score first and Germany to win 2-1.

Group C

5pm Sunday 10^th June – Spain vs Italy

The pre-tournament favourites, Spain kick off against an Italian side lacking the kind of household and top draw names of yesteryear in Group C’s opening clash. Even despite the loss of David Villa and Carlos Puyol to injury, Spain head to the championships with an enough quality to make them one of shortest priced favourites at a European Championships ever. If you fancy the Italian’s to hold out till half time, odds of 7/2 for Half time/Full time: Draw/Spain could well be the way to play things. Man city bad bay Mario Balotelli is a delectable 8/1 to score first in this game, which bearing in mind the young Italian’s ability to grab the headline is surely worth a bet. Another interesting bet is 9/1 odds offered for 1-1 correct score at half time, which provides value seeing as this was the score line at half time when the two sides met last summer in a friendly encounter, the Italians went on to win 2-1.

7:45pm Sunday 10^th June – Rep of Ireland vs Croatia

Croatia will hope to repeat their performance of four years ago when they won all three group games in Euro 2008. This time around they face an Ireland team with a number of established English Premier League players including Shay Given, Damien Duff and Richard Dunne who will be eager to grab this chance on the international stage. Croatia to win with 2 or fewer goals scored in the match is 11/4. Croatian playmaker Luka Modric is 9/2 to score anytime in this game and repeat his goal scoring opening performance in the first game of Euro 2008 against Austria. Those who fancy Croatia not to win the game could look at the draw no bet market and back Ireland at 6/4 which will return your initial stake should the match finish in a draw. 

Group D

5pm Monday 11^th June – France vs England

Roy Hodgson faces his first competitive international match in charge of England against France, which has been dubbed a “must not lose” tie already with a 2^nd place group finish possibly setting up a quarter final tie with Spain. No Wayne Rooney will provide an opportunity for the likes of Danny Wellbeck and Andy Caroll to come in and make their mark. Andy Caroll and Danny Wellbeck are both 8/1 to score first in this clash, whereas if you fancy France to be winning at the 30 minute mark in the match, odds of 10/3 are available. Given the attacking talent in the French squad with Samir Nasri, Karim Benezama, Franck Ribery and Hatem Ben Arfa most will expect a better showing this time round than the solitary point gained in Euro 2008. A repeat of the score line when the two sides met in Euro 2004 of 2-1 to France is priced at 10/1. If you believe France can extend their long unbeaten run under Laurent Blanc, 38/100 odds are offered for a France win or a draw.  

7:45pm Monday 11^th June – Ukraine vs Sweden

The final game of the first round of matches see’s Ukraine play Sweden, with the host’s under pressure to pick up points in what on paper is Ukraine’s easiest game in the group. Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic provides the one genuinely world class talent on show, and Zlatan to score first in a 1 nil win is a hefty 33/1. Considering the last two meetings between the sides have ended in a one nil win to each team respectively, the same selections could provide a bountiful return; a bet on a 1 nil win for Ukraine is 5/1 and for Sweden 7/1. Those who want some security against the nil nil stalemate could opt for the 0-1 goals bet at 13/8 which will payout as long as there is precisely one or zero goals in the game.

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