So day 2 of the football feast continues, on to group B today where co-hosts Austria play Croatia.  There’s no doubt that a home crowd should be a major advantage to Austria, but that theory might be toally wrong in this case after 10,000 Austrian fans petitioned for them to pull out of Euro 2008 due to embarassement!!

Austria vs. Croatia- I can’t really see past a Croatia win here, they have some great players and Austria have only won two out of the last sixteen matches. 

Free betting tip- Back the win for Croatia, great odds of 1.91 currently on Betfair and 1.83 at William Hill.

Germany vs. Poland- Although Poland have played Germany 16 times and never beaten them once, this game still looks to be a tricky one for Germany.   With Germany seen as the favourites to win their opening match and to win Euro 2008, there is alot pressure on them. 

Free betting tip- I’ll try to avoid predicting the winner in this match, the last time both teams played each other was at the World Cup 2006 and Germany won by a slim 1-0 margin.  So I’ll take a risk and back under 2.5 goals at odds of 1.96 currently on Betfair.

UPDATE- Well two out of two winning bets for day two of Euro 2008…not bad!!! Both bets pretty much went down to the wire, Croatia held on to the 1 goal lead until the end against a very impressive display by the Austrians and the Germany game delivered the under 2.5 goals which we were looking for!!  Lets hope the form continues into tomorrow, keep a lookout for  more bets on Monday.

After the long long wait, Euro 2008 finally starts on Saturday!! 

Switzerland vs. Czech Republic-  The home nation will kick off the tournament against the Czechs.  It would be easy to discount the Swiss straight away, but the Czech do have vital players in midfield missing and it’s hard to not take into account the big advantage the home fans will give the Swiss. 

Betting tip: The opening games of tournaments can always be a bit dodgy and hard to call, but I really can’t see past the Czechs.  Just to be sure, lay the Swiss in this opening game at odds of 2.98 on Betfair.

Portugal vs. Turkey- Portugal are big favourites to win this match at odds of 1.79. But Portugal have struggled in the Euro 2008 qualifying matches, not being able to beat Poland, Serbia and Finland. 

Betting tip: Turkey will be hard to beat, at odds of 5.9 I’ll be taking a risk and backing them to win the match.  Try also to back the draw at 3.6.

UPDATE- In the end it was one winner and one loser.  Switzerland gave the Czechs a few scares and made some decent chances in the match.  They were unlucky not to come away with a draw.  But 1 goal was enough to win the match and win our bet.  In the end the Portuguese class told over Turkey and our risk of backing Turkey backfired.  Although Turkey did display some good moments in the match, it just wasn’t enough to make a second winning bet for us.

Before the tournament starts, we’ll take a look out at the possible golden boot winners (that’s the player who scores the most goals in the tournament as supposed to the player who wears golden footwear).  Five seems to be the magic number for the past golden boot winners, so any player getting close to that total will no doubt be in with a shout at being the top goal scorer.  Here are a few players that you might:

Luca Toni- The Italian goal machine has been on form the past three seasons, scoring 121 goals in three season.  24 of those goals were scored this season for Bayern Munich.  In my opinion he is my favourite to win the golden boot award and he’s great value to back at odds of 16.0 on Betfair.  The only problem I can see is that Italy are in the group of death, where goals could be very scarce, so Luca Toni may never get to the magic number 5.

Cesc Fabregas- at the massive odds of 230 , there’s no doubt that you could be quids in if you sign up for your free ₤25 with Betfair and bet on Cesc (click on the banners on the left, also see the William Hill banners for a FREE ₤25 bet).  Influential for Arsenal early on in the season, I’m sure he’ll also be the same for Spain.  Spain always seem to start fast in tournaments and looking at Group D, there’s a great opportunity for goals.

Jan Koller/Milan Baros- When looking at teams who score goals then you can’t get better than the Czech Republic, who like to play football in the right way.  Baros was the surprise top goal scorer last time around.  Both of these Czech strikers are at odds of 65.0 and 110.0 to be top goalscorers, if the Czech midfield can create the opening, then the strikers could really fire the goals in.

Rudd Van Nistlerooy-  Van Nistlerooy is the player that is most likely to get the goals for Holland.  At 25.0 it seems like good value for a player who almost certainly is guaranteed goals.  He was runner up Golden Boot winner at Euro 2004 with four goals,. Again the only problem is that Holland are in the the group of death, so goals could be hard to come by.

Miroslav Klose- A player that has already scored the magic 5 goals in two World Cups, so at 11.0 he is definitely worth considering to have a bet on.  Klose  looks to be out of form at international level, but this was the same for Alan Shearer in ‘96, who went on to be the tournament’s top goalscorer.

Fernando Torres- the 24 year old is a big favourite to be the top goal scorer and after having a fantastic first season for Liverpool scoring 24 goals in the league, you can see why.  He’s at odds of 10.0 to win the golden boot on Betfair.

Christiano Ronaldo-  what a season this player is having, over 40 goals score for Manchester United.  The double winner is second favourite to be top goal scorer, but can his fine form this season continue?

Free Golden boot winner Betting tips:  It’s always hard to pick out top goalscorers, especially since there’s always a surprise player to make an impact in the tournament (just like Baros did) .  I’m tempted to go bet on Luca Toni at odds of 16.0 and Russia’s Andrei Arshavin at massive odds of 360.0.

Also keep a lookout out for Turkey’s Kazim Richards who could make a big impact at Euro 2008. 

Germanys ever reliable captain Michael Ballack will once again be the key man for Germany who come into the tournment as favourites. Ballack has struggled for fitness in recent seasons but scored some vital goals in Chelseas run in including a brace against eventual champions Manchester United. Capitano (as Jurgen Klinsmann named him) was instrumental in World Cup 2006 as the hosts reached the semi finals and his experience and know how will be key as germany look to win their first game at the euros since Euro 96.

Ballack started his career with Chemnitzer FC before moving onto Kaisersluten and then Bayer Leverkusen where he was a Champions League runner up in 2002 and in the same year Germany lost in the world cup final as Ballack could only sit and watch as he was suspended for the final. Ballack was fast becoming a star and it wasnt a surprise when Bayern Munich snapped him up, he went on to win the German title in 2003, 2005 and 2006  and scored 44 goals in 107 appearances for the German side until in the summer of 2006 he joined Chelsea on a free transfer he had an indifferent first season in english football and was linked with a move to Real Madrid after only one season with Chelsea.

His second season in England didnt start any better as he spent the first half on the sidelines with a chipped ankle bone but in the second half of the season the German came into his own and once again showed why he is one of the best central midfielders in the world,  but as a major trophy still eludes him  he will be looking to end that with the Germans looking as strong as they have done since Euro 96. 

So Euro 2008 is nearly upon us and the questions on everyone’s lips are did Andy Abraham really deserve to finish in  last last place? And should GB boycott the competition ?? Oh sorry that was Eurovision the ‘music contest’ and not Euro 2008 the football tournament…silly me.   The real questions everyone are asking are, who’s going to win the cup? Who should we be betting on? And please please please can England take part?(well maybe only England fans)

The bookie’s three betting favourites to win the tournament this year are Germany, Italy and Spain(check Betfair).  But Banter will be looking at the possible alternatives and outsiders that could bring some betting profit.  Four countries have been picked out (well then I’ve got 4 chances of being right) : Holland, Croatia, Sweden and Russia.

Holland are currently at odds of 14.5 on Betfairto win the tournament.  The Dutch are in group C with Italy, France and Romania, also known as the group of death.  The two times European cup winners have always had players that have been fantastic to watch and this squad is no different. With players like Robben, van der Vaart and the goal machine Ruud van Nistelrooy, Marco van Basten will be hoping he emulate the success he had as a player and win the tournament.  It always seems like the Dutch go the way of England at big tournaments and shoot themselves in the foot, hopefully there will be no in fighting as there has been in the past, if they can focus on just football, then they can surely be a match for the likes of Italy and France. 

Croatia have improved greatly since we last saw them play their traditional 3-5-2 formation at the World Cup, Bilic has firstly got them playing 4-4-2 and are very well organised, making it very hard for any team to break them down.  Add to that players like Niko Kranjcar who finds it second nature to keep the ball and who can create the necessary openings.  Unfortunately for Croatia their key striker Eduardo won’t be taking part so Bilic will have to decide who will be partnering Petric up front.  At odds of 17 on Betfair, I can see them giving Germany a match in their second game and they have a great chance of qualifying from their group, if they can avoid defeat to them.

Sweden- I’ve only picked out Sweden due to the massive odds of 50.0 on Betfairand of course because of my love for all things Volvo!!  Sweden have Larsson back for one last hurrah, but they don’t look to be the team they once were a few years back.  Lyon’s Kim Kallstrom is one player I would like to see in the Premiership and who I’ll be watching out for in the Swedish midfield.

Russia- Well 2008 seems to be everything Russia….hosting the Champions League Final, Zenit St Petersburg winning the UEFA cup and of course Russia winning the Eurovision song contest!!!  At odds of 27.0, I say why not(Terry Wogan may disagree though)?  Hiddink has the experience at this level to get Russia to the  group stages and most importantly for any team, they have a system.  Spain are favourites to emerge from group D, so if this holds true, Russia should have a chance against Sweden and Greece for the second qualifying spot.  Striker Andrei Arshavin looked very sharp and a handful when playing for Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA cup this season, a clear danger-man to look out for. 

There are a few FREE betting offers from Betfair and William Hill, check out the banners on the right to get your free bets for the tournament.  Good Luck!!