Live Odds
Netherlands v Denmark (BBC One 5pm)
The Netherlands arrive at Euro 2012 like they do to most major tournaments, by looking unstoppable.
Their last friendly outing saw the Oranjie simply destroy Northern Ireland 6-0 in Amsterdam, with the usual verve and panache in full flow as they gear up to erase the memory of losing the World Cup Final two years ago. However, a 2-1 home defeat to Bulgaria and the way they shipped two goals to England at Wembley in February suggests that perhaps the Dutch could well lack some degree of solidity at the back to match their attacking prowess.
Bert van Marwijk guided Holland to the Ukraine and Poland with just the one defeat away to England’s Group D opponents Sweden. With the coach favouring a lone striker, he has a headache with regards to choosing between Robin van Persie or Klaas Jan Huntelaar, although I’m sure he won’t be getting any sympathy from many other bosses with regards to that particular dilemma.
1992 winners Denmark have been written off as the weakest team on paper in the so called ‘group of death,’ but that underdogs tag will suit them. When they won the competition 20 years ago, they hadn’t even qualified as they were only called up at the last minute to replace Yugoslavia, who were banned due to civil war in their country.
And they can hardly be called underdogs, either. They are currently ranked 10th in the world, just one place below Lionel Messi’s Argentina. They, like their opponents tonight, lost just once in qualifying and won their last game prior to Euro 2012 against Australia.
The Dutch got the better of the Danes with a 2-0 win in the group stage of the 2010 World Cup. They also met eachother at the first round of Euro 2000, where a 3-0 win for The Netherlands set them on their way to the semi-finals. The last occasion that Denmark beat Holland was in 1967 with a 3-2 win in a European qualifier.
Inevitably, the Dutch are the favourites with the bookies to get off to a good start, as so often they do; the best price is with Bet Victor at 7/10. The draw can be found with Bodog at 14/5, who offer risk free bets, whilst a Denmark victory is 11/2 with Totesport.
A good start, however, doesn’t mean that The Netherlands will necessarily get into top gear straight away. You can get a Denmark half time/Holland full time punt with Sporting Bet at 28/1.
Although the lone striker position is still to be 100 per cent confirmed, it is more than likely to be Arsenal skipper van Persie that leads the assault for Holland. He’s at 4/1 with Stan James to score the first goal, whilst wide man Arjen Robben is at 7/1 with Paddy Power. For Denmark, Nicklas Bendtner is the most likely man to score first at 10/1 with Stan James, with excited midfielder Christian Eriksen, who plies his trade with Ajax, at 18/1 with Ladbrokes.
Departing Liverpool man Dirk Kuyt has a decent anytime goalscorer price of 3/1 with Bet Fred, with the same bookmakers offering odds of 7/2 on Ibrahim Affelay to score at any point during the 90 minutes.
A couple of punts we think are well priced are:
- Netherlands to win 3-0 12/1 William Hill
- van Persie to score a hat-trick 25/1 Paddy Power
Germany v Portugal (BBC One 7.45pm)
The Germans head into Euro 2012 knowing that they would have probably been made the favourites had it not been for the excitement surrounding holders Spain. (For what it’s worth, Germany is who we at The Chips Shop think will win it!).
The young side that dazzled at the World Cup in South Africa two years ago are now more experienced and cultured, and they will feel ready to mount a serious challenge for their international tournament victory since winning Euro 96.
Yet it doesn’t matter who the Germans bring with them, they always seem to have a knack of performing on the biggest stage. Coach Joachim Loew, however, will be slightly concerned at the fact that they have won just two of their last five games. It will be interesting to see, too, how the Bayern Munich contingent in their ranks recover from that Champions League Final loss, although it is important to remember that the Borussia Dortmund players will be on a significant high.
Portugal coach Paulo Bento seems to have put the pieces back to a side that were disappointing at the World Cup two years ago, but some question marks still hang over the Portuguese.
In Cristiano Ronaldo, they have a man that can win games single handed, but overall the side seems to lack a certain something from the one that loss the final of Euro 2004 on home soil and that was knocked out of the 2006 World Cup in the last four.
They appeared to struggle in qualifying, too, as they needed a play-off tie with Bosnia and Herzegovina to ensure that they made it to the finals. They are also without a win this calendar year, with scoreless draws with Poland and Macedonia followed up by a 2-1 loss to Turkey last time out.
Head to head, the Germans have the upper hand on Portugal in recent years, knocking them out of both the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008. However, the men in red did emerge victorious against Germany in the group stage of Euro 2000.
Loew’s side are favourites with the bookies for the win, with their best price with Bet Victor at 6/5. The draw is at 12/5 with Totesport, who offer free bets no deposit, with a Portuguese win priced at 3/1 with Bet Fred.
Both sides have plenty of players that can score goals, which should lead to an exciting contest from the neutral perspective. Sporting Bet will give you 5/2 on their to be four or more goals scored, with William Hill’s 4/5 on both teams to score looking nailed on.
Bayern hitman Mario Gomez, who hit 43 goals this season, is the favourite in the first goalscorer stakes at 11/2 with Paddy Power, with Arsenal bound Lukas Podolski at 6/1 with Bodog. Portugal skipper Ronaldo is at 6/1 with Ladbrokes, with Besiktas striker Hugo Almedia at 10/1 with Stan James.
There are some good prices to be had on anytime goalscorer. For Germany, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is at 11/2 with Totesport, with his Bavarian team mate Toni Kroos at 5/1 with Sky Bet. For Portugal, former Newcastle flop Helder Postiga is at 7/2 with Bet Fred.
A couple of punts we think are well priced are:
- Germany to win 3-1 16/1 William Hill
- Nani to score two or more goals 40/1 Paddy Power
The Chips Shop’s Double of the Day
The Netherlands/Portugal to both win 6/1 with Coral.
We have previewed every side in Euro 2012 and their odds in our feature Chips Euro Tips, and you can find them all by clicking here.
