Euro 2008 11 Oct

I am keen to be against England tonight but the betting public have woken up to the weaknesses of Steve McLaren’s side and the handicap line does not give much away at level ball. The Croatians have not lost at home since they won independence 12 years ago and there is little to suggest from the display against Macedonia that England have the firepower to win in Zagreb. Wayne Rooney is badly out of form, England’s midfield is in disarray and the Croatians have an incredibly tight defence. Some bookies know that the majority of money they will see in this game will be patriotic betting on England and as a result there is a bit of 3.25 (9/4) on offer, which is the equivalent of taking Croatia with a ¼ goal start at odds against on the handicap. That is much better value than the Asian handicap line so take Croatia at 3.25 (9/4) with BetFred to win the match outright and have a two point bet.
[Croatia won 2-0]

There will be plenty of people wanting to take Scotland with a ½ goal start after their epic 1-0 win over France at the weekend but Ukraine are going to be a tough side to beat and I think the bookies have got the line right on this contest.

A better bet is to take the Czech Republic to cover a ¼ goal handicap against Ireland. The Irish team seem to have lost their way in recent years and they were abysmal against Cyprus. Steve Staunton has huge injury problems – 14 of his squad are out – and the Czechs are really excellent in qualification stages of tournaments like Euro 2008. They are clearly the better side, have good recent form and the Czechs are worth a three point bet (-¼) at 1.70
[Ireland drew 1-1]

Those are the only two wagers that make any appeal tonight.