It’s the one we’ve all been waiting for: day two of Euro 2016.
Both England and Wales start their respective campaigns on what should be a phenomenal first Saturday of the tournament. With the beers flowing for a trio of matches, we could be a little worse for wear come 10PM. But hopefully, our selections will help cover those costs.
Good luck.
Saturday’s Matches: Albania V Switzerland (2PM, BBC One); Wales V Slovakia (5PM, BBC One); England V Russia (8PM, ITV 1)
Day two at the Euros should be a fascinating affair, especially for England and Wales. Before that, though, there’s the matter of the second game in Group A to take place as Albania make their first appearance on the European stage. Gianni De Biasi’s men have done extremely well to get here, but this is a pretty tough test – particularly as Switzerland will want a win from what is, on paper, their easiest fixture.
Group B gets underway with Wales v Slovakia in Bordeaux, and Welsh hopes will be placed almost entirely on the shoulders of star man Gareth Bale. The Dragons aren’t expected to do too much in their first tournament for over 50 years, but their performance in qualifying shows that they’re more than capable of escaping the group phase. However, Slovakia shouldn’t be underestimated, as the likes of Marek Hamsik could cause major problems.
Saturday’s action concludes with a huge clash between England and Russia in Marseille. We don’t even know which team Roy Hodgson will opt for, but this is an exciting team that can do great things in France. Nevertheless, a revitalised Russia have picked up massively since getting rid of Fabio Capello and won’t be there to make up the numbers. It should be an absolute cracker.
We can almost guarantee that the action will have us glued to our screens. Let’s just hope our bets bring some healthy profit too.
Toe Punter v The Bookies
The first match between Albania and Switzerland might not capture the imagination, but there’s definitely an opportunity to get the profit rolling. England may have defeated the Swiss with ease in qualifying, but they’re still a fairly team and boast far more experience than the debutants.
BET: Switzerland to win @ 13/15 with Coral (£10 stake)
The 5PM game is a difficult one to call, as we’re not entirely sure how Wales will react to playing on the big stage. One thing is for sure, though, it won’t faze Gareth Bale.
We don’t want to get too involved with this one, but we’re going for a cheeky selection.
As far as betting is concerned, our attentions are firmly focused on the England game.
Going in with two £50 stakes on day one might feel a little risky, but we’re playing it safe by backing Over 0.5 match goals. If the game is still 0-0 at 60 mins, you can always cover the full-time result to break even.
But we’re hopeful that their will be a goal long before this. And if there is, we’ll be backing Dele Alli to score the games second goal.
