(Benzema is a class act for France & if Jeremy Menez gets on the pitch he'll have a few tricks up his sleeve)
5:00 pm - France vs England
The opening match from Group D comes live from the Donbass Arena, Donetsk as France take on Roy Hodgson's England, the sides also met in the opening game of Euro 2004 when an injury time brace from the great Zinedine Zidane gave France a 2-1 victory. France are the form side in international football currently & come into the tournament unbeaten in their last 21 matches, including 15 wins & they won their three warm up matches scoring nine goals in the process. After the well documented chaos of their two previous major tournaments; there looks to be a completely different atmosphere & spirit created by the French manager & legendary centre back Laurent Blanc.
England now under the guidance of Roy Hodgson have had their build up overshadowed by the ongoing Rio Ferdinand saga & withdrawals through injury of Gary Cahill, Frank Lampard & Gareth Barry plus the notable suspension of Wayne Rooney for the first two group games. Roy's England won both of their friendlies 1-0 against Norway & Belgium & he has focused on a solid defensive unit playing on the counter attack. We wouldn't argue for England to play any other way as they have a distinct lack of quality in midfield, Steven Gerrard has been a fantastic player over his career but it is a damning indictment of English football & its youth development that even now, in his much reduced capacity, that Gerrard is considered an undoubted starter & star player in the side - take a look at how Germany so ruthlessly disposed of the great Michael Ballack.
England should line up in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Ashley Young lining up behind Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck in attack, by all accounts Welbeck has thoroughly outshone rival Andy Carroll in training. On the midfield flanks there will be a choice of two from three with Stuart Downing, Theo Walcott & James Milner in contention & the more defensively minded Downing & Milner could get the nod. In defence Joleon Lescott will partner John Terry at the heart & they will need to form an instant partnership as they'll have their hands full with the powerful & skilful Karim Benzema.
Benzema has had a great season with Real Madrid & found the net 32 times in 52 appearances in all competitions & he has a quality supporting cast in France's wonderfully creative midfield. Franck Ribery is probably the star name there for the French but Samir Nasri will look to find the intricate passes to unlock the English defence & players like Newcastle's Cabaye & Ben Arfa can light up any game. The midfield should be able to create chances for Benzema & as one of the best strikers around if he gets fed enough he will almost score. The French defence have been taking a fair bit of stick in the buildup, with many saying that it's their big weakness but it really isn't as bad as some like to make out with Lloris a very solid keeper & Mexes a classy centre back. For a big lad Adil Rami is pretty comfortable on the ball too & Patrice Evra's season got a lot better once the FA's Suarez investigation was concluded, if they do suffer any injuries there isn't a great deal of cover though & that could harm their chances of success in the tournament as a whole.
It's difficult to tell whether it s a good thing for England to have to face France in this first game, Scott Parker & Steven Gerrard will both have to put in some shifts to try to combat the French attacking midfield & at least they'll be fresh to do that, unfortunately they could end up toasted for the coming games in the group. England are going to rely on individual moments of brilliance & Ashley Young looks most likely to do that if anyone will, as much as we like Danny Welbeck he just didn't put the ball in the net often enough for a player starting at point for Manchester United. France have to be the bet at odds of 6/4, they are amongst the favourites for the tournament, have a real air of confidence about them & it looks unlikely that England without Rooney can exploit the weakest area of the side. We're big Karim Benzema fans here at Like Buying Money & 6/1 for him as first goalscorer looks a good bet, he plays as a lone striker meaning he'll have all of the service & he could make himself a superstar in this tournament. Betfred only offer 11/2 for Benzema to score first but do have an offer where if you back the first scorer & they go on to score again they'll double the odds or treble them if they bag a hattrick - if you are backing a shorter priced player, who is more likely to double up, they look the firm to bet with.
(Will the Ukraine team have recovered from their cheeky little bout of food poisoning?)
7:45 pm - Ukraine vs Sweden
The co-hosts Ukraine face Sweden in their first match at the Olympic Stadium, Kiev with both sides seeing this as an ideal fixture to get three points. The sides are considered as the outsiders for the group so a loss here could spell disaster for their tournament hopes.
Ukraine have had a bout of food poisoning that affected a large majority of the squad last week but the coach Oleg Blokhin believes this has now cleared up & he's focused on finding an unlikely path out of Group D. They lost their last two games against Austria (3-2) & Turkey (2-0) & this is on top of a recent friendly record of two draws & four defeats against sides involved in Euro 2012. Ukraine have one of the older squads at the championships as evidenced by Chelsea flop (but previously immense at AC Milan) Andriy Shevchenko still being a key player in the side at 35. That older squad could mean they struggle to recover from games in quick succession & we really feel this game is make or break for them, we're unconvinced by their quality but at least they'll have their vociferous (& occasionally racist) fans cheering them on.
Sweden are a well organised unit & are more than capable of qualifying from Group D & getting results against more illustrious teams at any stage of Euro 2012. Coach Erik Hamren has adopted an attacking approach built around the outstanding Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic scored 28 goals in 32 league matches for AC Milan & will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing an average Ukrainian defensive unit. Midfielder Kim Kallstrom who made seven assists (record highest with Mesut Ozil & Balazs Dzsudzsak) in qualifying will look to pull the strings for Sweden & along with the outstanding delivery of Seb Larsson will look to provide the service that Ibrahimovic thrives on. Defence isn't so great for Sweden but Ukraine may lack the pace through the middle to exploit old Olof Mellberg, Martin Olsson & Andreas Granqvist will need to be on good form to stop the Ukranian's best attacking threat in wingers Yarmolenko & Gusev.
We basically don't see too much to be positive about for the Ukraine other than home advantage, along with the Czech Republic & maybe Ireland we feel they're one of the weakest sides in the competition. Sweden meanwhile qualified as best runners up in a group including Holland, who they beat 3-2 in the final game & they carry a real attacking plus plenty of discipline when they don't have the ball. At odds of 2/1 to win Sweden look overpriced & underrated meaning they must be backed, they can get off to a great start & put themselves in pole position to qualify from the group. Like Benzema in the previous game Ibrahimovic is a general 6/1 to score first, he's one of Europe's best & is worth a punt, again a bet with Betfred at 11/2 can also offer up a potentially big payout if he bags more than one goal.
Selections:
France to beat England at 6/4 (general)
Karim Benzema to score first at 6/1 (general) or 11/2 at Betfred with their double delight/hattrick heaven offer
Sweden to beat Ukraine at 2/1
Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score first at 6/1 (general) or 11/2 at Betfred
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