After the opening weekend of the Euros, the games come thick and fast in midweek. The rest of the groups get underway, with plenty of big sides in action. If you enjoyed the hosts and home nations over the weekend, there’s plenty more where that came from.
World champions Germany are in action on Sunday night, as they get their campaign under way. Can they get back to the form they showed in Brazil? Republic of Ireland will have seen the British sides play their openers, and now attention turns to them. They play in one of two interesting clashes in Group E on Monday. Cristiano Ronaldo makes his entrance on Tuesday, as Portugal face Iceland. Here we have previews for each of those games, plus betting tips for each.
Sunday 12th June 2016
Germany v Ukraine (20:00) – Germany to win and both teams to score (27/10 with Coral)
Germany are the ultimate tournament side. No matter what kind of trouble they’re in, they tend to kick right into form ahead of any finals they enter. They’ll be hoping that’s the case again here. Having won the World Cup two years ago, a poor tournament here would be a major disappointment. Their loss at home to Slovakia recently showed their problems, and their selection for that game showed how muddled their team is. Right now they’re lacking players in key areas of the field, and they will be hard pushed to get around that. They’ve not been handed the easiest of openers, either.
Ukraine aren’t expected to do big things here, but they have great counter attacking pace. If Germany push forward, they can be hit on the break. The Germans are lacking at full back, and they’re without Mats Hummels. While Germany should win, due to their experience and scoring threat, we see Ukraine posing them a major problem. The Germans also pose a problem to themselves, with their defence prone to errors. Ukraine should be able to take advantage of that frailty, and we’re backing them to get on the scoresheet in a defeat at 27/10 with Coral.
Monday 13th June 2016
Republic of Ireland v Sweden (17:00) – Under 1.5 goals (6/4 with Betfair)
The Republic of Ireland will be looking to make up for their poor display four years ago, but they have a horrific group. This is the easiest of their three matches, and Sweden have Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their ranks. Controlling him will be the Republic’s biggest problem, one that they’ll need a lot of concentration to solve. The Irish aren’t blessed with a top goal scorer, and Robbie Keane could miss out through injury. He may be aging, but he’s still the best available to Martin O’Neill. That says a lot about this Irish side, they’re one of the oldest squads at the tournament.
With a third place finish enough to possibly make the next round, a win here would be a boost while a defeat is a hammer blow. A loss here would basically eliminate either team, so they’ll be doing everything in their power to avoid that. For the Irish, that’s nothing new. They’re used to scrapping for points under Martin O’Neill, and they’ll need to keep things tight again here. The Swedes will know how good the Irish are at defending deep, so they won’t want to concede the lead. We see a cagey game with these two focused on defending. That’s why we’re backing under 1.5 goals at 6/4 with Betfair.
Belgium v Italy (20:00) – Belgium to win (8/5 with Betfair)
Regardless of how Ireland versus Sweden goes, you’d imagine these two will be the top dogs in Group E. Belgium are well fancied to go all the way this summer, and that’s hardly surprising given their talented squad. Italy don’t have quite as much in their squad, but they have a lot of experience. They head in here with a typical Italian problem, being so good at the back that they aren’t scoring enough at the other end. That will make this an interesting match-up, as the Belgians are almost exactly the opposite. Which approach will come out on top here?
The Belgians have so much depth in midfield that they should have threats from all angles. They also have very different styles within their team, this isn’t the same as other top sides who have a distinct style. The Belgians can switch things up if need be. Italy will have to be at their very best to contain that attack, and it seems like a very tall order. We’d back Belgium to break through this tight defence with the forwards they have, while Italy aren’t going to get too many themselves. Belgium look like a far better side, and their price of 8/5 with Betfair seems too good to ignore.
Tuesday 14th June 2016
Portugal v Iceland (20:00) – Portugal -1 handicap (17/10 with Betfair)
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal made their entrance to the Euros on Tuesday, as they face Iceland. The Portuguese have landed a pretty straight forward draw, and they should come out on top in this group. Ronaldo should have a solid few games against the likes of Iceland and Hungary, he had an incredible record against smaller sides for Real Madrid last term. How on earth are defences supposed to handle him?
They may be lacking any other major threat, but Portugal have enough in their Real Madrid forward. As long as they can supply him with chances, he can cause problems. Not only can he get goals, but his presence will create space for others to play in. They may not have enough to make a major mark in France, but we see the Portuguese getting off to a strong start. Iceland have had some very mixed results of late, and we’re backing Portugal on the -1 handicap at 17/10 with Betfair.
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