Betting Opportunities at Group Stage of Euro 2012

England made a positive start to their Euro 2012 campaign gaining a point from their tough opening game against France. However the bookies still do see England as realistic winners of the tournament as the three lions are still available generally at 12/1.

Germany are now favourites for the competition as they have been cut into 11/4 after picking up victories over Portugal and Holland in their first 2 outings. Spain remain at 3/1 chance as even though the Spanish dropped points against Italy in their opening game they look likely to progress from their section as they should have more than enough quality to get the better of Ireland and Croatia in their remaining first round games.

Holland came into the tournament as one of the more fancied sides however they currently don't have a point to their name after 2 games. The Dutch need to pick up a victory over Portugal in the final group game and hope Germany beat Denmark if they are to remain in the competition. It is completely feasible that both of those results occur though and the 33/1 that is currently available on Holland to lift the trophy will look a huge price if they manage to scrap into the quarter finals as on paper they have one of the most talented squads in the competition.

Back onto England matters Roy Hodgson's side face Sweden on Friday and England are firm favourites to take all 3 points on offer from this clash. England are around even money while the disciplined Swedes are a best price of 3/1 with 11/4 generally available. Sweden go into the game knowing they need a positive result to keep their tournament alive as they suffered a disappointing opening day defeat against co hosts Ukraine.

One market that is now a rather intriguing one is that of England's top scorer. Centre half Joleon Lescott has been installed as the 9/2 favourite after the Man City centre half netted against France in the three lions first game of the group. That price looks quite good value given that England are likely to alter their attacking options once Wayne Rooney becomes available which could mean that the majority of the forwards in the squad will not have a great number of games to find the back of the net.

One attacking player who could well keep place when Rooney returns to the side could well be Ashley Young and the Manchester United forward looks at an attractive mark at a best price of around 8/1 to top score for England in Euro 2012. If any fans believe Rooney can hit the ground running once he gets back into action he can be backed at 13/2 to be England's top scorer in the tournament.

Looking further ahead England's final group game has already been priced up with the three lions just better than even money and Ukraine at around the 5/2 mark. The former Soviet Republic do look a little over priced given that Ukraine are effectively the home team in this encounter and the support they will no doubt get from the stands could inspire them to produce a similar showing to the impressive display they put in against Sweden where they came out on top despite going behind.

Written by Chris Mackenzie.

The views within this article are the views of the individual who wrote and submitted this piece, sometimes solely theirs. They are not necessarily shared by the Vital England Site Journalists.

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