Tuesday’s action brings the end of the first round of fixtures as all four teams in Group F kickstart their campaigns. There will be plenty of subplots developing, and we’re hoping to end this first stage of the competition with a big day in terms of betting.
Offer not to be missed:
Cristiano Ronaldo 7/1 to score a goal against Iceland with Coral
There’s only two games, but there should be plenty of drama. Here are our predictions:
Tuesday’s Matches: Austria v Hungary (2PM, ITV); Portugal v Iceland (8PM, BBC One)
Group F is one of the most intriguing of the entire group phase and all four teams will be quietly confident of progressing to the last 16; Austria and Hungary will be desperate to give themselves the perfect opportunity with a big start in Bordeaux.
Marcel Koller’s men were one of the surprise packages in qualifying, storming their way to France with an incredible return of 28 points from a possible 30. David Alaba aside, it’s a team void of any real superstars, but they do play as a great collective. Meanwhile, they will fancy themselves in this opener against the perceived weakest team in the group.
Hungary certainly won’t go down without a fight, though. In the other game, the smallest nation in the competition take on the one-man machine that is Cristiano Ronaldo. Will the Portuguese get their tournament off to a flyer or will Iceland’s fairytale continue.
It should be a great evening of action. We’ve got a couple of bets to increase the interest too.
Toe Punter v The Bookies
With only two matches on offer, we’re going for two singles at slightly bigger odds. But we’re still confident that both selections can win.
Firstly, we’ll be backing Austria to beat Hungary in style. The favourites conceded just five goals in qualifying, and will be looking to skipper Christian Fuchs and co to keep their opponents at bay. There’s every reason to think they can while the attacking players should score too.
Given that there haven’t been many BTTS winners so far, we’re backing Austria to win via a shutout.
Austria to win-to -nil @ 13/8 with SkyBet (£10 stake)
In the second game, we’ll finally get to see the competition’s biggest start take to the field, and he could be in buoyant mood following his disappointing Champions League showing. Ronaldo has recovered from injury since then, warming up with two goals in the rout over Estonia, and we’re backing him to open the scoring here.
That’s not to say Iceland can’t get out of the group. Nonetheless, this first tournament game will bring huge pressure. Ronaldo can take advantage.
Cristiano Ronaldo to score first @ 13/5 with BetVictor (£10 stake)
