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Euro 2016 Predictions: Beginners’ luck, German dominance or English rebirth

By Chinasia Ibonye
11 June 2016   |   2:36 pm
For the first time in the history of the European Championships, the United Kingdom will be represented by three teams, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. While Wales and Northern Ireland will be making their debuts, England will be appearing at the show piece event for the ninth time in their history. We will take a…

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For the first time in the history of the European Championships, the United Kingdom will be represented by three teams, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. While Wales and Northern Ireland will be making their debuts, England will be appearing at the show piece event for the ninth time in their history. We will take a look at these teams’ chances of progressing in this tournament, starting from their first set of matches and will also keep an eye out on the horizon for Die Mannschaft, who intend on having their own period of world football dominance like the Spaniards did for while. Debutants, Albania and Slovakia will also be on our watch list, with the Albanians our first stop, as the tiny European nation gets ready to battle Switzerland.

Gianni De Biasi didn’t have a stellar career as a player, but as a coach, he is racking up a decent portfolio, twice saving Torino from certain Serie A relegation and a 40% win rate as coach of Albania since he took the reins in December 2011. The Albanians will be led on the pitch by former PSG, Sunderland and Lazio defender Lorik Cana, who now plies his trade with Nantes in the Ligue 1 and can also play as a defensive or central midfielder.

The vastly experienced thirty-two year old will need to be at the peak of his powers to guide this Albanian team to a respectable outing in France, starting with their first match against Switzerland, who will be making their fourth appearance at the tournament. The Swiss have a fine mixture of youth and experience, with the likes of veterans, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Valon Behrami, and ‘Nigeria 2009’ graduates, Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka.

Wales and Northern Ireland are two other debutants, we will have our eyes on during the course of this Championship.

Gareth Bale has succeeded where Welsh legends, Ian Rush and Ryan Giggs failed as players, by taking his country to a major showpiece. However it can be argued that this Welsh side has more quality than previous ones, with the likes of Ashley Williams, Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey in their fold. They would like to make a big splash at their first appearance at a major football event since the 1958 World Cup, by living up to their nickname of ‘the dragons’ and reign down ‘fire’ on their opponents, the first of which will be fellow debutants, Slovakia, who boast of the likes of Marek Hamsik, Martin Skrtel and former Chelsea starlet, Miroslav Stoch. Northern Ireland upset the odds to qualify for this tournament and will hope to continue in that vein if they are to progress beyond the group stages, starting with their opening match against dark horses, Poland.

The Germans are heavy favorites for the title, but their squad does seem a little bit incomplete right now, with the full-back positions, a particular concern, while a lack of options upfront has led to a recall for Besiktas striker, Mario Gomez, who scored 26 goals in 33 league games for the Turkish giants this season. The addition of Captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and omission of Marco Reus has also led to some murmurs among the German populace. They begin their quest for a fourth title with a tricky tie against Ukraine.

A hundred percent winning record during the qualifiers made England a team to look out for at the tournament proper, but injuries and lack of match fitness for some key players have tempered the expectations. Danny Welbeck, who is rated highly by Coach Roy Hodgson is out of this one, while Jack Wilshere, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge look a kick away from the treatment table, with a doctor’s number on speed dial. There however seems to be some excitement about this team, with the emergence of Jaimie Vardy, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Ross Barkley and Marcus Rashford. Russia will provide them with their first test of the tournament and they will underrate the 1960 champions at their own peril.

A total of six matches will be played over this weekend and as usual, you stand a chance of winning big at www.bonanzawin.com. Here is my guide on how to place your bets this weekend. The first game will be between Albania and Switzerland, historically, the Swiss have the upper hand in this fixture, winning three and drawing one of the four matches against the Albanians, which means the safe bet will be on an outright win or double chance (win or draw) for Switzerland in this fixture, I also don’t think we’ll see lots of goals in this one, so I will also advice a bet of Under2.5 goals.

The second game of the day will see Wales battle Slovakia, these two teams seem evenly matched and with an aggregate score of 7-6 in the two fixtures between them, my tips for this game are a draw and a bet of Under2.5 goals. Wrapping up the games on Saturday will be England taking on Russia and for this one, the Russians lead 3-2 in head to head fixtures, but the last time they faced each other was nine years ago, double chance for England or if you are bold enough, a straight win, while a bet of Over2.5 goals might pay you well.

Turkey and Croatia start off proceedings on Sunday and this looks like another evenly matched fixture, however, the Turks have never beaten the Croats and I don’t see that happening in France, so I will advice on a double chance bet on Croatia and maybe, just maybe, Over2.5goals. Poland will face debutants, Northern Ireland in the second match of the day and a double chance bet on Poland will be my tip for this one, while an accompanying bet of Under2.5 looks good to go.

Our final match of the weekend will feature the Germans against the Ukrainians, a side that Germany has managed to beat just once in three attempts, with the other two ending in draws, the last of which was a 3-3 thriller five years ago. This fixture probably won’t follow that route in terms of result, which I see the Germans winning, but in terms of goals, a bet of Over2.5 or dare I say Over3.5 looks very tempting.

Finally, all my tips, predictions and advice can be bet against in the hope of upsetting the odds and what a windfall that will bring, you can also combine all six fixtures on a single bet for a chance of a higher winning pot. This weekend is sure to be football filled, why not make it cash filled as well by visiting www.bonanzawin.com and smile all the way to the bank, with some well placed bets.
Cheers!

 

 

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