 |
| (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)
No comments:
Post a Comment