There’s a short pause in the domestic schedule this week for an important round of international friendlies. The managers of each of the 24 teams taking part in the European Championships in France need to finalise their squads and these friendlies will give them a good insight into who will make the grade. The Euros may be the big event of the year but there are still plenty of betting opportunities for the friendlies and we’ve gone through them all to bring you three accas below.
Easy Winner – 8/5 (BetVictor)
- Portugal to beat Bulgaria (1/3) – The Portuguese could be a good shout for an outside bet to win the Euros and they should record a comfortable win at home against a pretty average Bulgaria side.
- Slovenia to beat Macedonia (2/5) – Slovenian fans are going to learn a great deal about their players against a Macedonia side who are only just rated above being whipping boys in Europe. This is more about working on tactics than trying to get a tough workout ahead of the competition proper.
- Austria to beat Albania (2/5) – Austria topped a relatively tough qualifying group, finishing eight points above early favourites Russia. They will be quietly confident about making it to the latter stages of the tournament proper and will surely have too much for Albania on Saturday afternoon.
Medium Risk – 15/2 (Sky Bet)
- Poland to beat Serbia (evens) – Poland at home is a tough match for any international side but it will be especially difficult for a Serbia side who are hugely lacking in confidence. This is a team who looked to be going places a few short years ago but they should be beaten by a good Poland team.
- Germany to beat England (7/10) – The England backroom staff should be congratulated for picking difficult matches in the warmup to the Euros but there is always a danger that their confidence could take a real kicking. It goes without saying that Germany are an excellent side and England fans may have to recalibrate their expectations after Saturday’s game.
- Spain to beat Italy (6/4) – This could be the best match of the international break. Both sides will feel that they have a really good chance of winning the European Championships but Spain look to be the better of the two and the one team who could really push Germany all the way in France.
Long Shot – 23/1 (Bet365)
- Sweden to beat Turkey (12/5) – Both of these two snuck through to the finals but Sweden look the better of the two and could secure a good win away in Turkey.
- France to beat Holland (evens) – An exciting France side should have enough to beat a disillusioned Dutch team in the Netherlands on Friday evening.
- Harry Kane to score against Germany (5/2) – Kane is almost certainly going to start in France and will definitely play against Germany given Wayne Rooney’s injury. He has risen to every challenge put before him and there is no reason why he cannot continue improving.