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| (Russia's Andrei Arshavin looks to have regained his confidence after his loan spell at Zenit) |
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).
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| (Can Greece emulate the winning Greek side of 2004?) |
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.
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| (Can Poland's Dortmund trio continue their great start to 2012 in their own backyard?) |
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.
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| (Can manager Franciszek Smuda get the best out of an average Czech side?) |
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)
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