Euro 2008 betting tips- Spain v Italy Quarter final 4

The last of the Euro 2008 quarter finals tonight and what great matches we’ve had so far.  After seeing the following Christiano Ronaldo headline on the front page of the Sun newspaper yesterday: ‘I don’t give a damn what Fergie thinks’ (about wanting his move to Real Madrid), it was good to see the following programme in the TV guide scheduled by ITV for 2.30pm on Saturday…..  Christiano Ronaldo: The story so far- Profile of the Portuguese footballer, who has enjoyed great success in the country with Manchester United.  Featuring contributions from Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney.

Obviously the description is a little out of date and should read Christiano Ronaldo: The story so far- still at Manchester United but will do anything to get his dream move to Real Madrid.  Featuring contributions from a fuming Alex Ferguson and a raging Wayne Rooney.  Not suitable for children, contains strong language and violence.

Spain v Italy

Head to head the two teams are close, out of 27 occasions Spain have won 8 times and Italy winning 9 times and 10 draws occuring.  Although in competitive competitions Spain have only won 1 out of the 9 games, with Italy winning 5 games.  Spain will be confident going into this match as they’ve not lost to the Italians in the last 4 occasions.  Italy will be missing the midfield pairing of Pirlo and Gattuso through suspension whereas Spain had the luxury of resting the first team in their last game. 

Euro 2008 betting tip:  Italy scraped through the group stages but they have shown that they have the mental toughness for the big games.  Spain have been on fire with the two strikers Villa and Torres putting on a master class performance up front and they should give the Italian defence a torrid time today.  But I’m leaning towards the World Champions to qualify, with no creativity in midfield they will set out to frustrate Spain today and I can see this game going to extra time and penalties.  It’s a tough one but I will go for Italy to qualify at odds of 2.16 on Betfair. 

Luca Toni has had so many chances to score this tournament surely he’ll have to score before it’s too late??  Well this is the ideal time to do it, go for him to score at anytime at odds of 3.15.

Also go for a small bet on the ‘method of victory market’, Italy to win on penalties looks like a tempting 11.0 odds, after tipping this, the game will probably over in the first 5 minutes!!

UPDATE: (Spain 0-0 Italy * Spain win on penalties) - It was difficult to watch this match without wanting to turn over to watch Taggart on ITV instead, for a neutral this quarter final didn’t live up to the excitement of the other three.  Another night of losing bets, I made a mistake and should of also tipped to back Spain  to win on penalties in the method of victory market, this would of covered all losing bets tonight.  Hopefully everyone isn’t down too much, it’s good that there’s a few days rest, it should give some time to try and pick some winners for the semi finals!!