It’s the Group C  ‘Group of death’ games today and there’s no doubt that today we’ll see some great matches.  So far we’ve done pretty well with the winning bets (not so good with the fun bets though), hopefully the winning will continue.  If you’ve just joined us (where have you been?, I hope you haven’t been watching Big Brother!!), make sure to sign up to Betfair to put your bets on and you will get a FREE £25 Bet offer.  See the link or check out the banners.

Holland v France- Well it’s the tale of two contrasting performances, Holland played some great football, scoring a fantastic 2nd goal and France were just poor all over the pitch, not really threatening up front.  The two teams have played 21 times, with 9 wins for the Dutch and the French winning 8 times.  Luckily for the Dutch this match can’t go to penalties as France knocked them out in Euro ‘96.  If France play like they played in their first game then they will have no chance, surely this game will bring out a big performance from the French players? 

Euro 2008 betting tip- We shouldn’t be underestimating the French in this match, we saw how they got their act together at the World Cup after a terrible start, but without a world class player like Zidane they may find it tough.  It won’t be an easy game for the Dutch and unlike teams like Romania, they won’t be defending most of the match to keep a clean sheet.   I will still be backing the Dutch to win this match at odds of 2.8 on Betfair, but as the current odds suggest, it is going to be a very close match.

UPDATE: 4-1 what a game!!! This has to be the game of the tournament so far, the Dutch were on killer form today and if the French had put away their chances then the score line could of reached double figures.  Thankfully this game won us our bet and should of covered any losses from the Italy match. 

Italy v Romania- It’s all at stake for the world champions today, they have to win to stand a chance of qualifying.  Romania will look to frustrate just like they did against France.  Italy looked like they were missing the creativity in midfield, if only they had Totti pulling the strings.  From past games, it doesn’t look too good for Romania, out of 14 games Italy have beaten them 10 times.   In Euro 2008 Italy won 2-0 against the Romanians in the quarter finals.

Euro 2008 betting tip-   Romania are at massive odds of 7.0 on Betfair to beat Italy.  Italy have to win this match to have a chance at qualifying.  I know that ‘having’/'needing’ to win is very different to winning a game and although Italy are missing creativity  in midfield I will be backing them at odds of 1.7 to beat Romania today.  Also I’m going for a small fun bet on Luca Toni to score at anytime at odds of 2.42.  See Betfair.

UPDATE:  Losing bet, Italy rode their luck at the end with the saved penalty and could of been out of Euro 2008.  In the end the 1-1 draw lost us our bet of backing Italy to win this game.  As I said before having to win a game doesn’t mean you will win the game, maybe I should take my own advice next time!!

Well last night was truly memorable to watch, two teams fighting for the ultimate prize……yes it was The Apprentice final!! …and the football wasn’t too bad either!!

Austria v Poland- The two teams have played each other 7 times in total, with Austria winning 3 times and Poland winning the remaining games.  Both teams have never played in the Euros before and both will be looking to get their first ever goals in this tournament.  Austria played better than expected in the first match against Croatia, just like their co-hosts Switzerland, a little bit of luck in their first game and they could of picked up at least a point.

Euro 2008 betting tips: Well we know that these two teams have never drawn against each other and Poland have scored three goals in the last four matches against Austria.  So what does that tell us?  A boring 0-0 draw of course!!!  No not really, based on these stats lets go with over 2.5 goals in this match at nice odds of 2.6 on Betfair.  Also go small on a 3-1 and 3-2 win to Poland, just in case history does repeat itself!!  (odds of 44 & 61 wow!!)

UPDATE- Well in the end it was 1-1 draw!!!  Not enough to get us the winning overs bet which I thought would come about.  But luckily we went small on the score lines as well, it seems like history doesn’t always repeat itself in football!!  Never mind we’ve been doing quite nicely with the betting so far and it’s good to learn that it’s ok to have some fun bets as long as they are kept small.

Croatia v Germany- Croatia don’t have a very good record against Germany, with only 1 win out of the 7 games they have played each other.  Whilst Germany looked comfortable in the last match against the Polish, Croatia made hard work in the games against the co-hosts.  Although playing against the team with home support is never easy and Bilic will no doubt look for major improvements against the tournament favourites.

Euro 2008 betting tips: Germany are the favourites to win this match, I’m in two minds about this game, so I don’t think I’ll be backing a win or lose.  Lets go for in form Podolski to score again at anytime and first goal scorer at odds of 3.25 and 7.2 respectively on Betfair.

UPDATE- Well this was the first big upset of the tournament, Croatia 2-1 Germany.  A great game to watch (except if you are a Getmany fan and/or Schweinsteiger fan) and full marks to Bilic for getting his tactics spot on.  I didn’t want to go against Croatia the team I tipped  to win Euro 2008,  so I should tipped them to win!!!  Podolski is in great form and won out anytime scorer bet on Betfair at odds of 3.25, if only he got the first goal… oh well there’s always next time!!

So it’s round two of the qualifying matches. After last night’s fantastic match with Spain and Russia, the question everybody is asking is……Was the Russian substitute who was substituted after playing 22 minutes taken off due to fatigue?…No no really, it’s…Can Spain finally meet expectations?

Czech Republic v Portugal- No doubt this game could be a potential cracker.  Out of the eleven times the two have played each other, the Czechs have won four matches and the Portuguese have won three.  The two teams last played each other in Euro 1996  and the Czechs won that match 1-0.

Euro 2008 free betting tip:  The Czechs looked slow in midfield and didn’t really create much in the first game, but with Baros coming into the lineup this could change.  I would think that the Portugeuse will be too quick for this Czech team, although the longer the game stays at 0-0 the more risks Portugal will take to get a goal, leaving them open to a counter attack.  Looking at the Czech team that started the last game, I don’t see them scoring more than a goal.  Based on the first game, I’ll back Portugal to win that match at odds of 1.85, maybe also bet on the 0-0 scoreline currently at odds of 7.8, just in case Chech is in fine goalkeeping form today. 

UPDATE- In the end Portugal were too strong for the Czechs and to me were worthy 3-1 winners.  Just in case you wnated to know, some player called Ronaldo scored the 2nd goal for Portugal, I’ve never heard of him before, apparently he would love to play football in Spain….  A winning bet comes in for us once again, even at odds of 1.85, it was worth it!!

Switzerland v Turkey-The hosts will be looking to bounce back against Turkey and if they had a little bit of luck on their side they could of snatched at least a point in their opening game.  Unfortunately for Switzerland captain Alex Frei will take no further part.  But Turkey are also missing a key player in Emre through injury.  Turkey have history on their side in this tie with 7 wins out of fourteen matches.

Euro 2008 free betting tip: In front of their home fans Switzerland will definitely give this match a go, but I’m asking: Do they have enough fire power up front to finish?.  I don’t think they will really threaten Turkey, the lay of Switzerland to win this match is pretty good value at odds of 2.28.

UPDATE- Another winning bet, Turkey win with a late late goal which just sealed our already winning bet.  If only we had bet on Turkey to win then we would of been even more in profit!!  But let’s just be glad that we have another winning bet! 

It’s the final round of the first match group games today and we have 2004’s surprise winners Greece and Spain one of the tournament favourites playing Sweden and Russia.   

Greece v Sweden

Greece don’t look to have any injury problems for this game and 36 year old Henrik Larsson is expected to lead the front line once again for Sweden.  The two teams have only played each other 6 times in the past and Greece are unbeaten against the Swedes in the last 5 times they played.

Euro 2008 betting tip: This could be a very defensive game, especially if Greece play their solid and organised game which they did in 2004.  I’ll go for under 2.5 goals at 1.45 odds especially based on previous games in Euro 2008. (which probably means this is overs!!!).

UPDATE:  Well Greece never really wanted to come out to play football and even at odds of 1.45 unders was worth a good bet.   Greece fans may not agree but it’s good to see football winning tonight.  Sweden looked good, one of my four tips to  win Euro 2008 ( see my pre tournament post).

Spain v Russia

Russia have some problems up front, with Pogrebnyak missing through injury and the ever present Arshavin suspended for the first 2 group games.  Spain only have a few minor injury problems.  Spain have only lost once to Russia out of the 8 times they have played each other. 

Euro 2008 betting tip: Spain are big favourites for this match at about 1.75, I’ll be going with a small bet on the draw due to the Hiddink factor at odds of 3.7.

UPDATE: Well it’s lucky I recommended a small bet on this match, the Hiddink factor just wasn’t enough for Russia to get a result and Spain ere worthy of the 4-1 scoreline.  But don’t rule out Russia from qualifying just yet, they showed some flashes of brilliance which could get them through, it’s a shame Arshavin will miss two games.

So far during the tournament in each match we’ve seen all the favourites win their matches, under 2.5 goals scored and  4 clean sheets with only one team scoring.  So what does this information tell us about the betting on Group C the ‘group of death’?  Not much!! Group C should bring us some of the best matches at Euro 2008, what the tournament has been really missing so far is a thrilling match with loads of goals, maybe the France match will bring this?

Today it’s:

Holland vs. Italy

France vs. Romania

I’ll be mainly concentrating on the France match today, I would like to see Holland win today, although I can see Italy winning this match by 1-0. 

France vs. Romania- France have quite a few injury problems, Henry looks like he is going to be missing for the Romania game along with maybe Viera and Ribery.  Ribery is the player I think France will miss the most, alot of the good plays come through him and if he doesn’t play then Romania could pick up at least a point.  The furthest the Romanians have ever got in the Euros was the quarter finals in 2000.

Euro 2008 Betting tip- France are missing alot of potential key players  and Romania having never won an opening match in the Euros.  Romania are a massive 5.5 on Betfair and 5.0 on William Hill to win this match, but I’m not sure if they have what it takes to pick up all three points.  Lets go with the draw at 3.4 currently on Betfair or lay France at 1.9 odds.

UPDATE:  Well winning bet number 4 comes in for us!! There were very few exciting moments in this game(except for the final whistle of course!!), but I’ll take a boring game and winning bet over exciting any day.  At odds of 3.4 that’s the biggest winning odds tipped so far in the tournament, lets hope there a many more of them to come.   I had a feeling for a 0-0 scoreline, if only I backed that too!!  So now we can sit back and watch a potential cracking 2nd game (or animal lovers can take their profits and watch Springwatch on BBC 2).