Euro 2012 Quarter Final One - Powerful Portuguese to Sweep to Semi

Well the teams meeting each other in the quarter final stages are all decided now & we've had three games to assess the form of all the sides & some are looking stronger than others & Germany backers must be starting to feel confident after they continued their competitive game winning streak through the toughest Group on show. Portugal also came through Group B & managed a couple of wins, only losing to the Germans & playing respectably in that game, they take on Group A winners the Czech Republic on Thursday night in Warsaw.

(Joao Moutinho can run the midfield for Portugal)

Although these may not be the very best two teams in the quarter finals this game may well end up being the pick of the bunch from a spectator's perspective as both teams strength lies in attack with Ronaldo spearheading Portugal's pacy forward line & Jiracek & Pilar coming in from wide areas to cause problems on behalf of the Czech Republic. All three players we mentioned there have a couple of goals apiece but it's Ronaldo who appeals as likely to thrive here, he really came to life against Holland, his eyes lit up once he realised the Dutch defence weren't up to scratch & he was able to run at them because they needed to attack & he put in an excellent display & could have ended up with more than two against them.

The Czech defence hasn't looked too clever at times & that could spell danger with Ronaldo on the pitch, although they have looked better with Kadlec back at centre back rather than out on the left where ex-Tottenham loanee David Limbersky has come into the side. Theo Gebre Selassie has been pretty impressive going forward from right back for the Czech's but he'll be directly up against Ronaldo here & we don't think he'll cope so Ladbrokes offers of 4/1 for Ronaldo to score first & 5/4 to score anytime should be punted heavily. Nani has been playing at a really high level for the tournament & he's always keeping his head up looking for Ronaldo to pass to when he has the ball & we wouldn't be surprised to see him provide the assist.

(Czech defender Michal Kadlec is on penalty duty - value at 9/1 to score at anytime?)

Key Czech playmaker Tomas Rosicky is a doubt for the game & he'll be a miss, he certainly performs at a higher level for country than club as we've seen many anonymous performances from him for Arsenal. Milan Baros no longer looks to have goals in him but he does do well at bringing Pilar & Jiracek into play & they often make darting diagonal runs into the box either with or without the ball & the Portuguese defence will need to improve if they are to keep a clean sheet. In fairness Portugal's main defensive problems have looked to be when balls are played into the box at head height & only conceded against Holland thanks to an outrageous Van der Vaart strike. The Czech's shouldn't be bombing too many crosses in but they do attach the edges of the area at speed & that means that defenders need to be careful about not committing themselves to challenges as a penalty could be easily conceded. Defender Michal Kadlec is on penalty duty for the Czech's & he's probably slightly overpriced at 9/1 to score anytime as he also gets forward for set pieces & has 8 goals in 37 games for the national team.

We see plenty of excitement & goals in this game, both teams have seen over 2.5 goals in two of their three games so far & odds of 5/4 about over 2.5 goals seem fair, we don't buy that this will be a tense, nervy affair as Portugal now realise they have to put their faith in Ronaldo if they are going to go all the way & they'll look to feed him the ball with regularity. Both teams are good on the counter with pacy wide players but we see Portugal more successfully 'countering the counters'  breaking whilst Gebre Selassie tries to get forward in  attack & we like the look of a Portugal win in 90 minutes at 4/5 with Paddy Power.

Selections:
Portugal to beat Czech Republic at 4/5 (Paddy Power)
Over 2.5 goals at 5/4 (188Bet)
Ronaldo to score first at 4/1 & anytime at 5/4 (Ladbrokes)
Michal Kadlec to score at anytime at 9/1 (Ladbrokes)

Euro 2012 Fixtures - Saturday 16th June

We're into the final round of Group games now & only two teams are out of the competition so far meaning that we're going to be seeing some great games as teams fight tooth & nail for their quarter final spots. We're still searching the markets for the best value bets in each game & we bring you Group A today where hosts Poland look to not fall at the first hurdle & dark horses Russia try to top the group.

(Vaclav Pilar has two goals in two games with the Czech Republic)

7:45 pm - Czech Republic vs Poland

Czech Republic battle it out with co-hosts Poland at the Municipal Stadium, Wroclaw with the winner making the knock out rounds. Poland have two points & only victory will do for them whilst the Czechs need a win to quality but a draw might also be enough if results go their way.

After being torn apart by Russia in their first game the Czechs bounced back against Greece to claim all three points with a 2-1 victory. The damage was done in the first six minutes with goals from Petr Jiracek & Vaclac Pilar. Pilar is having an excellent tournament, scoring two goals, and is providing the sides attacking edge with striker Milan Baros struggling. A concern though is captain & playmaker Tomas Rosicky, substituted at half time against Greece, is a doubt with an achilles injury & a decision will be left right until before kick-off.

Poland have drawn their first two game 1-1 & their performances have be decent in the first half vs Greece & a second half against Russia which resulted in an equaliser but as yet they haven't been able to put it together for whole 90 minutes. They have a number of injury concerns to Lucasz Piszczek, Dariusz Dudka & Eugen Polanski & coach Franciszek Smuda has a decision to make in goal with Wojciech Szczesny returning from suspension but understudy Przemyslaw Tyton hasn't put a foot wrong in his game & a half.

Both sides will be focusing on victory & with their strengths lying in the attacking third rather than defensive disciplines this should lead to an entertaining game. Attacking players Jakub Blaszczykowski & Robert Lewandowksi for Poland & Czechs Jiracek & Pilar have all found the net already & will be licking their lips at the prospect of this game & 4/5 on both teams to score which has occurred in all Group A game looks nailed on. The first half is likely to be cagey & full of tension so get on the 6/5 on offer for most goals in the second half with one team likely to be getting desperate as their tournament hopes fade.

(Russia's attacking trio will be looking to seal top spot in Group A)

7:45 pm - Greece vs Russia

The other game in Group A is a battle between the top & bottom sides as Russia entertain Greece at the National Stadium, Warsaw. The requirement for Greece is simple; only a win will do & Russia will be looking for maximum points to guarantee top spot.

Russia will be disappointed with their second half performance against Poland where they let a goal lead slip. It was obviously two points dropped than a point gained but yet again youngster Alan Dzagoev enhanced his growing reputation with his third goal of the tournament. Dick Advocaat has a fully fit side to pick from & we would expect him to resist calls in some quarters to start Roman Pavlyuchenko over Alexander Kerzhakov. Kerzhakov has been misfiring in-front of goal but his link-up & positional play has been excellent so eventually he & the Russian side will reap the rewards & we see Pavlyuchenko as an impact substitute.

Greece again have to shuffle the pack with an injury to keeper Kostas Chalkias & the returning from suspension of Sokratis Papastathopoulos meaning Giannis Maniatis will return to the midfield at the expense of the ineffective Giorgos Fotakis. Despite their strong defensive record in qualifying; Greece have defended poorly in both games & now they have the daunting prospect of facing the excellent trio of Arshavin, Kerzhakov & tournament joint top scorer Alan Dzagoev. At the other end of the pitch they have looked far from free-scoring & only a howler from keeper Petr Cech for the Czech Republic allowed them to find the net in game two & with this is mind Russia -1 on the handicap at 21/10 looks a reasonable bet.

Selections:
Both teams to score between Poland & Czech Republic at 4/5 (Betfred/Stan James)
Most goals in the second half of Poland/Czech Republic at 6/5 (Coral)
Russia -1 on the handicap vs Greece at 21/10 (Betfred)

Euro 2012 Fixtures - Tues 12th June

Another lovely day of Euro 2012 action coming up in the non-glamour group that is Group A, Russia announced themselves in the tournament on Friday whilst Greece showed some real grit, & a bit of nice play too, to come back against Poland. We're looking forward to these games & aren't going to stick with the obvious as we try to seek out the value as ever. Remember if you aren't already you can follow us on Twitter @LikeBuyingMoney by clicking the follow button at the top of the page & get to join in the betting & Euro 2012 specific conversation!

(Dimitrios Salpingidis added an extra dimension to Greece's attacking play as a substitute against Poland)

5:00 pm - Greece vs Czech Republic

The first fixture of the evening sees Greece face Czech Republic at the Municipal Stadium, Wroclaw with both sides looking to gain their first victory in Euro 2012.

Greece certainly had an eventful game against co-hosts Poland on opening night where they looked at sixes & sevens in defence in the first half resulting in 1-0 deficit at half time but then showed determination to equalise & only a missed penalty stopped them completing a second half comeback. Greece will have to make some changes for this match with Avraam Papadopoulos limping off & centre back partner Sokratis Papastathopoulos harshly sent off plus coach Fernando Santos will want to reward an excellent substitute appearance by Dimitrios Salpingidis with a starting berth.

The Czechs need to bounce back from a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Russia & show the football world they aren't just here to make up the numbers. They really struggled to cope defensively with the guile & skill of the Russians & keeper Petr Cech was exposed time & time again. The Greeks won't pose the same attacking threats as Russia but they will be looking to put in a high number of quality set pieces to test an already brittle/low confidence defence.

Any match involving Greece seems to be a tight low scoring affair but the odds for under 2.5 goals are prohibitive at 4/7, Greece do have both their starting centre backs out plus they need to win this before facing Russia & the Czech's could do with a result to give them a chance going into the final game against the Poles. The Czechs really did look a pretty poor side at the back & even though Greece aren't known for their expansive play we did like Dimitrios Salpingidis when he came on as he had a bit of pace & directness about him, he's on offer at 9/2 to score at anytime with Sportingbet but as short as 9/4 with Coral. We might be going loopy here but the odds of a high scoring game are probably a little bit too big too ignore, have a small bet at 11/1 on Betfair about this going over 4.5 goals, it happened in the Russia v Czech Republic game & we've a feeling this could be an odd match, not great strikeforces but poor or weakened defences for either side could make the difference.

(Alan Dzagoev celebrates his second & the Russian's third against the Czech Republic)

7:45 pm - Poland vs Russia

The second match of the evening should be an entertaining affair between Poland and Russia at the National Stadium, Warsaw. Russia top the group with three points & another victory will be enough to see them qualify for the knock out phase.

Russia looked mightily impressive in their first game & showed what an attacking force they are as a number of players caught the eye. Youngster Alan Dzagoev bagged a brace but Andrei Arshavin was involved in everything Russia produced in the final third & looks to have the bit between his teeth after a difficult 18 months. Striker Alexander Kerzhakov may not have found the net, thanks to some extremely profligate finishing, but his link-up play & positioning was excellent & we would expect him to get one more chance to lead the attack again despite substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring an impressive individual goal.

Poland had a second half to forget against Greece & now have to cope with the suspension to goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. A positive was the well taken goal by leading talisman Robert Lewandowski but he faded, as did the quality of the Polish side as the game went on. Defensively they are going to have to step it up a level to cope with the Russians & this looks like being a difficult ask for them.

We like the look of the 13/10 on offer for another Russian victory as they look a class above their Polish counterparts. The Russians at times also looked vulnerable at the back against the Czechs & Poland are much better offensively than defensively so a high scoring affair could be on the cards so take advantage of the 23/20 for over 2.5 goals.

Selections:
Over 4.5 goals in the Greece v Czech Republic game at 11/1 (Betfair)
Dimitrios Salpingidis to score at anytime at 9/2 (Sportingbet)

Russia to beat Poland at 13/10 (Bet356/William Hill)
Over 2.5 goals in the Russia/Poland match at 23/20 (BetVictor)

Opening Night Fixtures - Fri 8th June

It's finally upon us, Euro 2012 from Poland & Ukraine gets underway on Friday & there are so many betting opportunities it can be difficult to know where to start! We've already had our previews of each team & group up, plus our outright tournament picks but now we get onto the daily work of finding winners from the individual matches, we kick off in alphabetical order with Group A & Poland v Greece & Russia v Czech Republic. If you like what you see we'd love for you to share with your friends & family, you can follow us on Twitter @LikeBuyingMoney by clicking the follow button above & we'll be talking about Euro 2012 right through the tournament.

(Defender Vassilis Torosidis will look to get on the end of Greek set pieces)

5:00 pm - Poland vs Greece

The opening Euro 2012 fixture takes place between co-hosts Poland & 2004 winners Greece at the National Stadium, Warsaw. The likelihood is that both sides are playing for 2nd place in the group if all goes as expected for Russia so neither side will want to suffer a defeat here.

Poland will be looking for a quick start in-front of their passionate fans whilst Greece will aim to soak up the early Polish pressure & take advantage of any set pieces their earn. The key match-ups will be how the Greek defence cope with the highly talented Dortmund duo of Jakub Blaszczkowski & Robert Lewandowski whilst up the other end how the Polish team defend against the high class delivery from evergreen Giorgios Karagounis.

In the lead up to the tournament both sides have played a number of friendlies each, Poland used an experimental line-up to beat Latvia 1-0 thanks to a late header from Artur Sobiech & then using stronger line-ups beat Slovakia 1-0 & gain a 4-0 thumping of Andorra. Greece conceded a last minute equaliser after defender Vassilis Torosidis scored in 1-1 draw with Slovenia & then fellow defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos netted in a 1-0 victory over Armenia.

It's a difficult match to predict an outcome of with the first 20 minutes being key. If Poland get an early goal then it's hard to see pass them but on the flip side the longer the game stays at 0-0 the stadium will get more nervous which will transmit to the Polish players & those set pieces from Greece will come more & more into play. We have Poland as favourites in our book but aren't too enamoured with odds very close to evens & instead will take a vaule scorer bet with Greek defender Vassilis Torosidis who scored two in qualifying (joint highest) plus in the warm-up against Slovenia & is 28/1 to be first goalscorer & 12/1 to score anytime, getting those odds up can start your Euro 2012 betting with a bang. 

(Russian coach Dick Advocaat will look for a win to set up a successful tournament)

7:45 pm - Russia vs Czech Republic

The second fixture in Group A comes live from the Municipal Stadium, Wroclaw as the group favourites Russia entertain Czech Republic. The Russians have the strongest side of the four teams & will look to put down a marker in the tournament against an average Czech Republic side.

Russia dished out a 3-0 beating to Italy in their final warm up game with second half goals from striker Alexander Kerzhakov & a brace from Zenit midfielder Roman Shirokov which means they come into the tournament full of confidence in a group which is theirs for the taking. There should be goals in this Russian side & plenty of attacking options on the bench (strikers Pavel 'The Pog' Pogrebnyak & Roman 'Pav' Pavlyuchenko to name a few) if the starting eleven fail & at the back they are in safe hands with the outstanding keeper Igor Akinfeev.

The Czech squad are going through a difficult time with a 2-1 warm-up defeat to Hungary & injury concerns over main striker Milan Baros & midfield playmaker Tomas Rosicky. It's a difficult call for under pressure manager Michal Bilek on whether to start both the players with slight doubts as they may further aggravate their injuries which could put them out of the two remaining group fixtures against Greece & Poland where it could be judged they are more likely to pick up points.

As mentioned in our Group A preview we see the 5/4 on offer for a Russian victory as one of the standout betting opportunities of the entire group matches as they are far superior to the Czechs. The front three for Russia are very dangerous with Kerzhakov at point, who has excellent hold up play, with Arshavin & potential tournament star Alan Dzagoev backing him up with trickery & pace.

Selections:
Vassilis Torosidis (Greece) to score first at 28/1 and/or 12/1 anytime vs Poland (Paddy Power/Bet365)
Russia to beat Czech Republic at 5/4 (BetVictor)

Euro 2012 Group A - Russia to retake Ukraine & Poland

Euro 2012 kicks-off in Group A with Poland entertaining Greece at the National Stadium, Warsaw on June 8th. Group A is the only group in the tournament without a top 10 side in FIFA's world rankings with Russia the highest ranked 11th. The group consists of 2008 semi finalists Russia, 2004 winners Greece, tournament co-hosts Poland & 1996 runners-up Czech Republic. It looks a tight group on paper & the sides which make it through face daunting quarter final ties against the top two in Group B (Germany, Holland, Portugal or Denmark).

(Russia's Andrei Arshavin looks to have regained his confidence after his loan spell at Zenit)

Russia: Outright Winners 25/1 & Group A Winners 6/4

Russia, under the leadership of experience coach Dick Advocaat, who returns to club management with PSV Eindhoven this summer, will look to end his reign on a high with a strong showing. They had a impressive qualifying campaign where they topped their group & only conceded four goals in ten matches which included a run of four consecutive clean sheets. They have continued their fine form recently in all matches & are unbeaten in their last 12 games so they come into the tournament full of confidence. They undoubtedly have the strongest squad of the four sides but have suffered a blow with centre half Vasily Berezutsky being ruled out because of injury. They have a settled 4-3-3 formation with the two full backs ex-Chelsea Yuri Zhirkov & Aleksandr Anyukov providing the width and Andrei Arshavin & youngster Alan Dzagoev adding the attacking flair & passes to Zenit St Petersburg hotshot Alexander Kerzhakov. Kerzhakov only scored two goals in qualifying but had an impressive club season with 16 goals in 22 league appearances & if he fails to find the target then Russia can call upon Roman Pavlyuchenko & Pavel Pogrebnyak from the bench.

The 6/4 on offer for Russia to win Group A seems good value & potentially the best bet of all Euro 2012 group fixtures is the 5/4 available on Russia to beat an inferior Czech Republic side on the opening night (a price we would expect to shorten by the time kick off comes around).

(Can Greece emulate the winning Greek side of 2004?)

Greece: Outright Winners 100/1 & Group A Winners 5/1

The entire footballing world looked on in amassment in 2004 when the Greeks made a mockery of all footballing/betting experts by becoming the European Champions in Portugal & they are about as fancied now as they were then. They also topped their qualifying group & were undefeated in the progress & boast a record of only being beaten once (3-1 friendly defeat to Romania) in their last 20 matches. Their side is built around an extremely solid defensive quartet & midfield shield of Kostas Katsouranis, Giorgos Karagounis & Giannis Maniatis. The major problem they have is putting the ball in the oppositions net with only 14 goals scored in the ten qualifying games. None of the likely attacking trio Georgios Samaras, Fanis Gekas & Dimitirios Salpingidis have better than moderate international goalscoring records with Samaras & Salpingidis only contributing 13 goals in 105 caps. Their best chance of scoring come from set plays with high class delivery from Karagounis & the big men up from the back. This is backed up by defenders Vassilis Torosidis & Kyriakos Papadopoulos being joint top scorers in qualifying with two apiece.

It is difficult to find any standout Group A bets for Greece as they look to battle it out for the runners-up spot. Their three group matches will be tight, low scoring affairs so you may find value in the 1-0/0-1 correct score markets & also keep an eye out for any over-priced defender odds in the first/anytime goalscorer markets.

(Can Poland's Dortmund trio continue their great start to 2012 in their own backyard?)

Poland: Outright Winners 50/1 & Group A Winners 11/4

The co-hosts Poland couldn't have asked for a better group to give themselves an opportunity to reach the knockout rounds in-front of their hugely passionate fans. Obviously they didn't need to qualify for their own tournament therefore have had to rely on a number of friendly matches across the globe. Their record has been mixed which is understandable with all the variables attached to friendly matches but of late they have won three of their last four against Slovakia, Latvia & Bosnia-Herzegovina with the other ending in a 0-0 draw with Portugal. Coach Franciszek Smuda will heavily rely on Borussia Dortmund trio Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski & Robert Lewandowski to carry his side as the rest of squad minus Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny are average at best. The trio have had a hugely successful club campaign with Dortmund by beating rivals Bayern Munich to the league & cup glory & striker Lewandowski will hope to continue his excellent goalscoring record of 30 goals in 46 matches (including a hat-trick in the German cup final).

We all know you can't ignore a man in form so back Lewandowski to be Group A top goalscorer at 11/4 with Paddy Power. He is Poland's attacking focal point & has no competition from the bench unlike nearest betting rival Kerzhakov & if Poland are going to reach the quarter finals then his goals will be vital.

(Can manager Franciszek Smuda get the best out of an average Czech side?)

Czech Republic: Outright Winners 80/1 & Group A Winners 9/2

Czech Republic make-up the final side in the group & had to overcome a play-off against Montenegero. To be fair their qualifying group contained current European & World Champions Spain so 2nd place was always going to be the realistic target but if it wasn't for a hotly disputed 90 minute penalty equaliser against Scotland then they maybe not be here at all. Their three leading men are keeper Petr Cech, playmaker Tomas Rosicky & striker Milan Baros who won the golden boot in Euro 2004. Both Cech & Rosicky have been excellent for Chelsea & Arsenal respectively since Christmas & will have to be at their best to give the Czech's any hope of reaching the knockout stages but just be aware there seems to be a injury doubt hanging over Rosicky.

On paper they aren't as strong defensively as the other sides in the group & also at the other end they struggle to score which is highlighted by left back Michal Kadlec being their top goalscorer in qualifying with four goals (three being penalty kicks). So keep an eye out for the price of Kadlec in the first goalscorer & anytime goalscorer markets in the three group matches for them. The Czechs seem the weakest side in Group A but this isn't reflected in the betting so take advantage of the 11/5 on offer (general price of 2/1) for them to finish bottom.

Selections:
Russia to win Group A at 6/4 (various)
Russia to beat Czech Republic at 5/4 on opening night (7:45pm Fri 8th June)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland) to be top Group A goalscorer at 11/4 (Paddy Power)
Czech Republic to finish bottom of Group A 11/5 (118Bet)