Arguably the second biggest International tournament begins this weekend in France with 24 teams to take place in the Euro 2016. Continue reading for our Euro 2016 Tournament Preview and Betting Tips.
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2016 UEFA Euro Champions
Surprisingly it will be France who starts as the favourites to claim the Euro 2016 as the hosts are expected to play at their best in front of their home crowds. Whilst the French will have a successful tournament, we believe they are too short and there are options with better value that the punters should take advantage of. France also has a relatively tough pool as Switzerland always plays its best at big tournaments and could challenge them for top spot in Pool A.
The two-time defending champions Spain are equal second favourites but they showed in the World Cup two years ago that their team is an aging one and may not be able to have the same success in the tournament as they have had over the past decade. There has been a lot of change over of player’s and the stage could be too big for them and they may need to gain the experience before claiming the title. The Spanish are another side with a relatively tough pool, they will almost certainly qualify for the knock out stages but it will definitely be a test.
We are predicting the current World Cup champions to make their way through the nations and lift the UEFA Euro 2016 trophy. The Germans will be without former captain Phillip Lahm and their leading goal scorer Miroslav Klose who both retired from International duty. However, they still have a lot of their players from the title winning squad and they have great young talent who will lift for the occasion. The Germans will head into the tournament in poor form though having lost in friendlies with a depleted time whilst they weren’t dominant in qualifications. However, this could be down to a post World Cup hangover and they could be priming themselves for the Euro 2016 tournament.
TIP: Germany @ $5.50 with Sportsbet
If you are looking for a bit more value, the dark horse team of the competition will be Belgium. They had a young squad at the 2014 World Cup and they were meant to progress far in the competition, however they were disappointingly knocked out in the quarter-finals but they would have learned a lot from the experience and could be ready to take the next step at the 2016 Euros. The loss of captain Vincent Kompany through injury is a bit of a blow but the if the young side can get through their tough group the sky is the limit.
TIP: Belgium @ $11.00 with CrownBet
Top Goal Scorer
The Golden Boot for the tournament will have a lot of competitors as it is shaping up to be an exciting tournament with a lot of goals to be scored. There is a lot of value in this market and when selecting the player who you believe will score the most goals you should decide on which team you think will make it furthest in the tournament. Obviously, the more matches your player takes part in the more opportunity he will have to find the back of the net. As we are backing Germany to lift the trophy and reach the finals, this will require them to take part in a lot of matches and this will give their striker Thomas Muller the best chance of earning the golden boot. Muller is reaching his peak as he is turning 27 later this year and he has known to be a goal-scoring machine. He has scored 91 goals in 228 appearances for German club Bayern Munich and has found the back of the net 32 times for Germany in 71 appearances. This tally will certainly increase throughout the tournament and he will have a good chance of scoring quite a few goals against Northern Ireland and Ukraine in the pool stages. He is talented in the air and with his feet and will be a constant target for Mesut Ozil who is one of the best playmakers in the tournament.
TIP: Thomas Muller Top Goal scorer @ $10 with William Hill
Player of the tournament
This market is another great opportunity to earn a lot of value. There are only seven players who are under $20 of value to earn the award, which means there is a chance of punters to earn a great deal of cash if they can correctly pick the winner. Sticking with the Germany theme, Mesut Ozil has the ability to take a game by the scruff of its neck and lift his team to victory with his brilliant positional play and playmaking ability. He showed how dominant he could be in the first half of the last Premier League season when he raced to 20 assists. However, his form did dip in the start of the 2016 season as Arsenal began to struggle in the league but if he is able to recapture his best form, the 27-year-old will be a dominant force in this tournament. If Germany is to win the tournament it will be likely a player from the winning team will earn this award.
TIP: Mesut Ozil player of the tournament @ $23 with CrownBet
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Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
