Greece v Czech Republic Euro 2012 Preview & Tips

Greece and Czech Republic battle it out for the second round Euro 2012 Group A matches. The game is on June 12, 17:00 GMT.

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Greece

Greece were handed a golden opportunity to win their first Euro 2012 match against Poland but captain Giorgios Karagounis couldn’t capitalize on a 71st penalty that saw Wojciech Szczesny sent out of the game. The draw takes Greece to a good table position and should they win against Czech Republic on Tuesday, a second-place finish in Group A is almost a certainty.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos saw red in the Poland game so he will be missing the match against Czech Republic. Dimitris Salpingidis is expected to take his place. More bad news for Greece came in the form of an Avraam Papadopoulos injury that rules him out of the tournament. This forces Fernando Santos to revamp his back-four; a move that could end up costly in the next two games.

Czech Republic

A bloody Russian massacre condemned sent the Czechs to the bottom of Group A after a horrendous 4-1 defeat. The Czech Republic defense was highly ineffectual, and Petr Cech couldn’t help but let in four goals as his back-four couldn’t get their act together.

Vaclav Pilar scored early in the second half against Russia, a goal that could have turned the game around if not for the fact that things didn’t pick up right after that. The Russian defense improved while the Czech midfield could not create a string of good chances. And so as it looks, Michal Bilek has a lot of work to do; their game against Greece is already looking like a win-or-go-home scenario as they are presently dead last in the table.

Greece v Czech Republic Betting Preview

Before Euro 2012 started, Czech Republic looked like it could take this group by storm. After the Russia game, it could be game over for them. They do have a chance to bounce back strongly though – Greece and Poland aren’t in the mould of Russia yet and two wins in as many games could give them a chance.

Greece meanwhile will have to adjust to changes in their back four. This could be their waterloo for this game as the Czechs proved that they can score even against the likes of Russia. This is going to be a close game for sure and unless Greece can take advantage of the chances given to them, expect the game to end in a draw.

Betting Tip

Verdict: A 1-1 draw is in the works.

Tip: Czech Republic is odds-on to win this game at 2.30, but given their performance in the Russia match, a draw at 3.20 looks likely. A 1-1 draw is at 6.00; this could be a very good punt given the style of both teams. This means that the game could go under 2.5 goals at 1.53.

Giorgios Karagounis could finally find the back of the net in this game. The captain could make up for his penalty miss against Poland with a goal against Greece; he is at 6.00 to score anytime. Penalties are always a part of major tournaments so be sure to cover Michal Kadlec for the Czechs. Like Karagounis Kadlec is in charge of taking penalties; he is at 5.00 to score anytime.

All odds are from Bet365.com (£200 FREE BET!).