Euro 2012 Betting Preview: England, Portugal and Spain the favourites in Groups G, H & I
We take a look forward to the first set of matches...
2 Sep 2010 11:35:00
By Patrick Reilly
Odds supplied by Titan Bet
Group G
Match Odds: Montenegro 1.80, Draw 3.13, Wales 3.83
Dreams of a ticket to Ukraine/Poland in two years time won't be very far away in Montenegro's debut European Championship qualifier. The world's newest international team will quite rightly fancy their chances of beating Wales who they defeated 2-1 barely a year ago.
The media got a bit carried away with Wales' 5-1 win last time out. It was against Luxembourg after all and the Dragons have got a stack of injuries for this fixture.
A passionate crowd is expected in Podgorica and although the home side are without Stevan Jovetic they still have plenty of firepower to send the fans home happy. Odds of 1.80 are fair on a Montenegro win but with in form Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy likely starters the Welsh should get on the scoresheet too.
* Both teams to score @ 1.90
Match Odds: England 1.26, Draw 4.79, Bulgaria 9.97
We had to mention them some time didn't we? England's Three Lions are very short at 1.26 to beat Bulgaria. Did the bookies forget to watch the World Cup?
Minus Frank Lampard, England may be expected to perform better as Fabio Capello gives other players in the squad a chance. A lot is expected of the new No.1 goalkeeper, which is likely to be Joe Hart.
He won't have to deal with Dimitar Berbatov, who has quit the international scene. Bulgaria otherwise have a full strength squad and there is little expected of them at Wembley. They have lost three of their last four with two of those by a single goal margin.
If England don't race into an early lead the demanding crowd, still seething about the World Cup, will get on their back. Don Fabio's side were drawing 0-0 with Hungary at half-time in their last game and losing to Japan and Mexico at the break in pre World Cup friendlies at Wembley. It's worth a punt...
* Half time double chance on Bulgaria or draw - 1.90
Match Odds: Iceland 3.78, Draw 3.18, Norway 1.79
Nordic rivals Iceland and Norway square up in what is destined to be one for the purists. After all, Norwegian boss Egil Olsen is back and has brought his long ball with him.
Iceland are in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten run at home. Norway failed to win any of their away games in World Cup qualifying, mustering just one goal in four matches. One of the teams they drew with was Iceland and the return leg wasn't much better as that ended 2-2 in Oslo.
Premier League stars John Carew and Eidur Gudjohnsen will miss the game for their respective countries. The last three games featuring these teams have ended in draws and odds of 3.18 are appealing on it happening again.
* Iceland (+0.5) @ 2.0
Match Odds: Portugal 1.15, Draw 5.08, Cyprus 14.14
No Ronaldo and no Carlos Queiroz on the sideline could make for an interesting evening in Guimaraes. Portugal's Galactico hurt his right ankle in the La Liga opener at the weekend, while coach Queiroz is serving a ban for insulting anti doping doctors.
Playing Cyprus used to be six guaranteed points but they have improved in recent years. Away from the island their form isn't so good with just one win in 16 featuring 12 defeats.
Portugal have won the two most recent games and walloped the Cypriots 6-0 at home in 2001. A similar result is unlikely but you would fancy them to win with a little bit of comfort.
* Portugal (-1.5, -2) @ 1.90
Bookmakers are split on which of these teams are worse than the other. Scotland's recent away record isn't dissimilar to their club representatives in the SPL in Europe, losing eight of the last nine. Of greater concern to new coach Craig Levein is that Scotland failed to score a single goal in their last five away defeats.
Scotland and Lithuania are renewing acquaintances having being drawn together in qualifiers for Euro 2000, 2004 and 2008. The Scots won the most recent matches 3-1 (H) and 2-1 (A).
All things being equal a draw match at 2.95 looks very inviting.
Match Odds: Liechtenstein 41.0, Draw 5.0, Spain 1.01
The banker of banker of bankers. World and European champions Spain are raging hot favourites to extend their unbeaten record in the competition to 17 games. Perhaps the best Liechtenstein can hope for is to keep La Furia Roja quiet and restrict them to only a couple of goals.
Both of the previous games to be played in Liechtenstein finished 2-0 to Spain. Three points and a clean sheet would suit Vincente del Bosque down to the ground.
* Spain to win 2-0 @ 7.50 (small stake)
* Over three goals - 1.44
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Predictions and picks are informative and can't be guaranteed. Goal.com encourages all readers who bet to do so sensibly.
Group G
Match Odds: Montenegro 1.80, Draw 3.13, Wales 3.83
Dreams of a ticket to Ukraine/Poland in two years time won't be very far away in Montenegro's debut European Championship qualifier. The world's newest international team will quite rightly fancy their chances of beating Wales who they defeated 2-1 barely a year ago.
The media got a bit carried away with Wales' 5-1 win last time out. It was against Luxembourg after all and the Dragons have got a stack of injuries for this fixture.
A passionate crowd is expected in Podgorica and although the home side are without Stevan Jovetic they still have plenty of firepower to send the fans home happy. Odds of 1.80 are fair on a Montenegro win but with in form Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy likely starters the Welsh should get on the scoresheet too.
* Both teams to score @ 1.90
Match Odds: England 1.26, Draw 4.79, Bulgaria 9.97
We had to mention them some time didn't we? England's Three Lions are very short at 1.26 to beat Bulgaria. Did the bookies forget to watch the World Cup?
Minus Frank Lampard, England may be expected to perform better as Fabio Capello gives other players in the squad a chance. A lot is expected of the new No.1 goalkeeper, which is likely to be Joe Hart.
He won't have to deal with Dimitar Berbatov, who has quit the international scene. Bulgaria otherwise have a full strength squad and there is little expected of them at Wembley. They have lost three of their last four with two of those by a single goal margin.
If England don't race into an early lead the demanding crowd, still seething about the World Cup, will get on their back. Don Fabio's side were drawing 0-0 with Hungary at half-time in their last game and losing to Japan and Mexico at the break in pre World Cup friendlies at Wembley. It's worth a punt...
* Half time double chance on Bulgaria or draw - 1.90
Match Odds: Iceland 3.78, Draw 3.18, Norway 1.79
Nordic rivals Iceland and Norway square up in what is destined to be one for the purists. After all, Norwegian boss Egil Olsen is back and has brought his long ball with him.
Iceland are in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten run at home. Norway failed to win any of their away games in World Cup qualifying, mustering just one goal in four matches. One of the teams they drew with was Iceland and the return leg wasn't much better as that ended 2-2 in Oslo.
Premier League stars John Carew and Eidur Gudjohnsen will miss the game for their respective countries. The last three games featuring these teams have ended in draws and odds of 3.18 are appealing on it happening again.
* Iceland (+0.5) @ 2.0
Match Odds: Portugal 1.15, Draw 5.08, Cyprus 14.14
No Ronaldo and no Carlos Queiroz on the sideline could make for an interesting evening in Guimaraes. Portugal's Galactico hurt his right ankle in the La Liga opener at the weekend, while coach Queiroz is serving a ban for insulting anti doping doctors.
Playing Cyprus used to be six guaranteed points but they have improved in recent years. Away from the island their form isn't so good with just one win in 16 featuring 12 defeats.
Portugal have won the two most recent games and walloped the Cypriots 6-0 at home in 2001. A similar result is unlikely but you would fancy them to win with a little bit of comfort.
* Portugal (-1.5, -2) @ 1.90
Bookmakers are split on which of these teams are worse than the other. Scotland's recent away record isn't dissimilar to their club representatives in the SPL in Europe, losing eight of the last nine. Of greater concern to new coach Craig Levein is that Scotland failed to score a single goal in their last five away defeats.
Scotland and Lithuania are renewing acquaintances having being drawn together in qualifiers for Euro 2000, 2004 and 2008. The Scots won the most recent matches 3-1 (H) and 2-1 (A).
All things being equal a draw match at 2.95 looks very inviting.
Match Odds: Liechtenstein 41.0, Draw 5.0, Spain 1.01
The banker of banker of bankers. World and European champions Spain are raging hot favourites to extend their unbeaten record in the competition to 17 games. Perhaps the best Liechtenstein can hope for is to keep La Furia Roja quiet and restrict them to only a couple of goals.
Both of the previous games to be played in Liechtenstein finished 2-0 to Spain. Three points and a clean sheet would suit Vincente del Bosque down to the ground.
* Spain to win 2-0 @ 7.50 (small stake)
* Over three goals - 1.44
. Predictions and picks are informative and can't be guaranteed. Goal.com encourages all readers who bet to do so sensibly.
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