Group D

[American Locksmith]

[quote=DJ;1082595]Are Russia really so bad? Guess most of the players that play for Zenit are not Russian? Just the fact that they reached Uefa Cup Final and their results along the way suggested that Russian teams can be successful in European competitions and shouldn't be so easily written off?

I know England beat them by few goals at home but England didn't dominate the game in the way the result would suggest.

I think that Russia will qualify with Spain but maybe I'm wrong. I don't think Sweden are the force that they used to be. So I can see them finishing 3rd with the Greek team finishing in bottom spot.[/quote]

No they are not bad at all, I fancy them to qualify. Zenit is packed with russians and a few of Zenit's players should be in starting 11. Russia are surely one of my suprise teams of the tournament along with Romania the only difference is Russia's group not easy but surely easier than Romania's.

[SaberBlade83]

I have to agree with some in here, I'm very suprised to see Russia this underestimated. I've seen a few of their games in the qualifiers and I think they could make their way through, in my opinion, a tough group.

I've taken a bet on Russia to go through the groupstages @ 2,10. Decent enough price, and maybe it was possible to get bigger a couple of weeks ago or so? But I'm happy enough to give that price a chance. Odds @ 5,00 for them to win the group seems a bit big but I do favour Spain to win it.

Greece and Sweden won't be easy teams to crack. Both normally tend to play solid defence but still possess decent enough attacking strenghts. I'm actually already looking a bit on the under here, but the 2,5 line is a bit short I think but the 1,5 looks interesting to me. I think there will be very few goals in this opening fixture.

1.Spain
2.Russia
3.Sweden
4.Greece

[Mikeyred]

[QUOTE=DJ;1082595]Are Russia really so bad? Guess most of the players that play for Zenit are not Russian?.[/QUOTE]

I maybe wrong but I think all but about 3 of the Zenit side are Russian...I tend to agree that Russia are their own worst enemy..and they will be missing Arshavin in their first two games..but I still think they will be too strong for a weak Greece side and an ageing Swedish team. Russia to go through with Spain.

[QuietLife]

i expect Russia to do well here, on the back of success by Zenit and, more importantly, Huddink in charge. the team is young but i dont see that as a negative.

Russia to win group 4/1 @ centrebet
Russia qualify 23/20 @ centrebet

top goal scorer michael ballack, thought he showed his best form toward the end of the season with chelsea. he is a strong player at international level.

Ballack top goal scorer 30/1 @ centrebet

[WoodyTHFC]

Russia to qualify 5/4 7.5 pts Hiddink does so well with these smaller nations (if Russia are small that is but in footballing terms they have been for most of my lifetime.) He often gets them through their qualification groups with Australia and South Korea recent examples. Spain are the clear favs in this group and even though they have a history of blowing it, if they dont qualify that would be a surprise. So it could be between Sweden, Greece and Russia and i favour Hiddink's me. In Arahsvin they have one of the best playmakers around who can score goals too, he inspired Zenit to the UEFA Cup and could inspire Russia, arguably the second best playmaker in europe [IMG]http://www.punterslounge.com/forum/../../images/smilies/wink2.gif[/IMG] Although I understand he is out for the first two games. Sweden are getting on a bit and a bit too relaint on Zlatan who can be unpredictable, whilst Greece who qualified well look to have a toughish task for a squad that is not getting any younger.

[Guy Fawkes]

[B]Russia to qualify from Group D | £20 @ 2.10[/B]
Russian football has never been healthier and I think Russia are genuine darkhorses for this tournament. The money that is now in Russia, Zenit's success in the UEFA cup and Hiddinks credentials make them a very attractive betting proposition imho. Qualifyign from the group shoudl be their minimum achievement.

[JCtips]

My picks for today:

Spain-Russia
No need for a deep analysis regarding Spain.
They have plenty of stars everywhere you look...the thing with them is that they are a "public team" with plenty of stars but always underachieve in these tournaments (Euro and World Cup). IMO the big challenge for them is to make a group of star players play like a team which they rarely do at this level...if they can do that, they're surely a top candidate to win the title.
They had a 9-1-2 record in the qualifying stage scoring 23 goals (almost an average of 2 per game) and conceded only 8.
They have a 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games (including friendlies) during which they scored in 9 of those 10 games.
Russia cannot be underestimated as they made some changes to the squad since the poor performance in Euro 2004 and recent Zenit succes winning the UEFA Cup is an evidence that they have some great players.
They also have a great and experienced coach in Guus Hiddink.
I think their weakness is the fact that they will miss their two best players (IMO at least): star striker Andrei Arshavin, who will be suspended for the first two games and striker Pavel Pogrebnyak who had a knee surgery recently.
With these players in the squad, I would say that we would have to count on Russia to have a good tournament...without them (well, Arshavin will play after the 3rd group game) I don't think they'll go very far.
Far to many unders in the tournament so far and no game had both teams scoring yet, so I think we'll see that happening today...
[B]My picks: Spain -0.75AH (Asian Handicap) and >2.25 goals;[/B]

Greece-Sweden
Honestly when I loooked at the odds this morning I couldn't believe it...Greece are the "dogs" here despite being the current title holders, having the same coach and also the squad is mostly the same...I mean, Sweden is a good team, they have some great players but it's not like they're France, Italy, Portugal, Germany or Spain...
...not only that, Greece is 8-2-0 in their last 10 (including friendlies) and scored in 9 of those 10 games.
Sweden is 4-2-4 in their last 10 scoring in 5 of those 10 games.
I will take the dog here as I see clear value in this bet.
Also (and again), far to many unders in the tournament so far and no game had both teams scoring yet, so I think we'll see that happening today...
[B]My picks: Greece 0 AH (Asian Handicap) and >2 goals;[/B]

Good luck!

JC

[bagzi_cg]

My strong picks for today matches are:

[B]Greece[/B] WIN and,

[B]Russia[/B] win, I belive in [B]Russia[/B] they have vey nice squad, the best squad for 20 years

[uhudazflo]

[quote=uhudazflo;1081585]spain should win group, i wouldnt be surprrised iif they become favourites after possibly thrashing russia but then i think they could lose in the quarters as theyy will be up against a more experienced tournament nation eg france or italy..

would like to see spain go all the way but they always disapoint in the major tournies[/quote


about the 1st thing ive got right so far... i need sweden greece to draw now for my double

[JCtips]

[quote=JCtips;1108664]My picks for today:

Spain-Russia
No need for a deep analysis regarding Spain.
They have plenty of stars everywhere you look...the thing with them is that they are a "public team" with plenty of stars but always underachieve in these tournaments (Euro and World Cup). IMO the big challenge for them is to make a group of star players play like a team which they rarely do at this level...if they can do that, they're surely a top candidate to win the title.
They had a 9-1-2 record in the qualifying stage scoring 23 goals (almost an average of 2 per game) and conceded only 8.
They have a 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games (including friendlies) during which they scored in 9 of those 10 games.
Russia cannot be underestimated as they made some changes to the squad since the poor performance in Euro 2004 and recent Zenit succes winning the UEFA Cup is an evidence that they have some great players.
They also have a great and experienced coach in Guus Hiddink.
I think their weakness is the fact that they will miss their two best players (IMO at least): star striker Andrei Arshavin, who will be suspended for the first two games and striker Pavel Pogrebnyak who had a knee surgery recently.
With these players in the squad, I would say that we would have to count on Russia to have a good tournament...without them (well, Arshavin will play after the 3rd group game) I don't think they'll go very far.
Far to many unders in the tournament so far and no game had both teams scoring yet, so I think we'll see that happening today...
[B]My picks: Spain -0.75AH (Asian Handicap) and >2.25 goals; [COLOR=green]won&won[/COLOR][/B]

Greece-Sweden
Honestly when I loooked at the odds this morning I couldn't believe it...Greece are the "dogs" here despite being the current title holders, having the same coach and also the squad is mostly the same...I mean, Sweden is a good team, they have some great players but it's not like they're France, Italy, Portugal, Germany or Spain...
...not only that, Greece is 8-2-0 in their last 10 (including friendlies) and scored in 9 of those 10 games.
Sweden is 4-2-4 in their last 10 scoring in 5 of those 10 games.
I will take the dog here as I see clear value in this bet.
Also (and again), far to many unders in the tournament so far and no game had both teams scoring yet, so I think we'll see that happening today...
[B]My picks: Greece 0 AH (Asian Handicap) and >2 goals; [COLOR=red]lost[/COLOR]&[COLOR=blue]push[/COLOR][/B]

Good luck!

JC[/quote]

Another good day with a 2-1-1 record and a nice profit making it 6-3-1 so far in Euro 2008 !

JC

[ainsworth_21]

had my eye on this bet for a while, before the games in the group started, and i hope it unfolds like i imagined.

I fully expected spain to beat russia (well hoped dearly), and a win in the other match for either sweden or greece. that happened and so i'm tipping [B]Russia to qualify @ 2/1[/B] Stanjames.

The scenario that needs to unfold now for this bet to come off is that spain needs to beat or even draw with sweden. Hopefully by a big margin, but a draw would still be ok. Russia needs ideally to beat greece, and im pretty confident of this. now for the reasoning....

Firstly Greece were terrible in my opinion, and all talk of them as 'defending champions' was overhyped; from what i saw they couldn't defend at all save from passing it persistantly on the half way line between centre backs. Sweden i thought were ok, good effort by them but they've lost wilhelmsson, who i thought was one of the stand outs, and also alexandersson who wasn't bad either. Basically i think spain should be able to beat them.

I think Russia were beaten by a very good side in Spain, and they were very poor at the back but to beat greece i think they have enough attacking prowess to see of the greeks.

[I]If[/I] this goes to plan, then it leaves potentially a sweden- russia play-off for the 2nd qualificaion spot. The prospect here is that arshavin will be back for russia, and they will be much stronger with him, he will inject a lot of confidence into the attack and resume his role as a v. good playmaker. Really the only thing that i think might spoil this bet is the 4 goals conceeded by russia in the first match. this could be a big factor meaning the pressure could be on for russia to beat sweden and not draw, but i'm willing to risk it.

a lot of hypotheticals maybe, but well in the realm of possibility i think. Cheers.

[JCtips]

My picks for today:

Sweden-Spain
Spain has a squad full of top stars and they played well in the 1st game. Because of that the odd is far too low but still they seem to be getting the majority of the betting action.
I agree they're the favorites for tomorrow but not so fast...
...1st of all, anyone can have a bad day (just ask Germany), then we have to consider that Spain has a tendency of failing at this level and that coach Luis Aragonés was under heavy fire during qualification and will leave the team after Euro 2008 is over.

Last but not least, the opponent is Sweden.
These teams were in the same qualification group and Spain finished with a 9-1-2 record, 23-8 in goals and a total of 28 points, while Sweden finished with a 8-2-2 record, 23-9 in goals and a total of 26 points. Sweden won the home game 2-0, Spain won their home game 3-0.
On top of that, Sweden also has many quality players (plenty of quality strikers) and most of them play abroad (England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany...) so they're also experienced.
They're a patient team that has excellent teamwork.

I see everything pretty even here and will risk a tie, which would be a decent result for both, bet as I find the odd (3.64) very, very nice.
Wish me luck!
[B]My pick: draw;[/B]


Greece-Russia
Greece doesn't know how to play attacking football, they're more of a "wait and see" type of team and are usually very good defending.
Russia is, again, missing two of their best (attacking) players (if not the best) so it will most likely be hard for them to score against the Greek side.
The game is important for both teams after they both lost their first game.
I don't expect them to take many risks and expect a tight game, maybe even a dull one, with not many goals.
[B]My picks: draw and <2;[/B]

Good luck!

JC

[tougher than the rest]

I definitely agree that Sweden and Spain could settle for a draw that will please both teams. The firepower is on Spanish side but Sweden seems to be rock solid team - hard to break and dangerous upfront with strikers like Henrik and Zlatan. Russia had some very good scoring chances agains Spain and Sweden should also have few. My estimation 40-35-25 and a draw@medium stake.

On the game Russia vs Greece I don't have a crystal clear opinion. Russia disappointed in the defence, Grecee showed they have virtually no other option apart from slowing the game down and looking for a some kind of chance upfront (preferably from corner or free kick)
This game can go each way but I choose the less logical option and put a small stake on over 2,5.

[JCtips]

[quote=JCtips;1111757]My picks for today:

Sweden-Spain
Spain has a squad full of top stars and they played well in the 1st game. Because of that the odd is far too low but still they seem to be getting the majority of the betting action.
I agree they're the favorites for tomorrow but not so fast...
...1st of all, anyone can have a bad day (just ask Germany), then we have to consider that Spain has a tendency of failing at this level and that coach Luis Aragonés was under heavy fire during qualification and will leave the team after Euro 2008 is over.

Last but not least, the opponent is Sweden.
These teams were in the same qualification group and Spain finished with a 9-1-2 record, 23-8 in goals and a total of 28 points, while Sweden finished with a 8-2-2 record, 23-9 in goals and a total of 26 points. Sweden won the home game 2-0, Spain won their home game 3-0.
On top of that, Sweden also has many quality players (plenty of quality strikers) and most of them play abroad (England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany...) so they're also experienced.
They're a patient team that has excellent teamwork.

I see everything pretty even here and will risk a tie, which would be a decent result for both, bet as I find the odd (3.64) very, very nice.
Wish me luck!
[B]My pick: draw; [COLOR=red]lost[/COLOR][/B]


Greece-Russia
Greece doesn't know how to play attacking football, they're more of a "wait and see" type of team and are usually very good defending.
Russia is, again, missing two of their best (attacking) players (if not the best) so it will most likely be hard for them to score against the Greek side.
The game is important for both teams after they both lost their first game.
I don't expect them to take many risks and expect a tight game, maybe even a dull one, with not many goals.
[B]My picks: draw and <2; [COLOR=#ff0000]lost [COLOR=black]&[/COLOR] [/COLOR][COLOR=green]won[/COLOR][/B]

Good luck!

JC[/quote]

First negative day of the Euro for me.
Still cannot believe the way I lost the draw bet in the 1st game...two games this week in Euro 2008 were decided in the last minute of injury time, I had a draw bet on both (both with nice odds) and I lost both .

And then that stupid mistake by George Clooney (Greek keeper nickname) .

Better luck tomorrow.

JC

[kaala]

what do you guys think of russia to qualify from this group? the odds are 2.7 for this. if they win sweden, they are through, but what if its a draw?

[Hooloovoo]

[quote=kaala;1114155]what do you guys think of russia to qualify from this group? the odds are 2.7 for this. if they win sweden, they are through, but what if its a draw?[/quote]
If it's a draw then Sweden will qualify due to better goal difference.

But don't you worry - Sweden will take 'em down 3-1

Seriously, i think that 2.7 is value. Russia is 2.8 on Betfair to win the match,
and i think they looked solid against Spain and the 1-4 defeat did not give a correct
picture of Russia's abilities as a team

[SRoaD]

kind of offtopic: but I want to know which are this girl

[img]http://i.data.bg/08/06/16/1006282_orig.jpg[/img]

[JCtips]

My picks for today:

Greece-Spain
Greece has nothing to play for but pride (or what's left of it).
Spain will spare the main players and play with all the substitutes but apart from a few exceptions these do not have nearly the same quality as the team regulars.
I will chase the draw trend that is way far behind in this tournament and risk the draw bet.
[B]My pick: draw;[/B]

Russia-Sweden
With Arshavin back in the team the Russians greatly increase their power and they're motivated with the win against Greece.
Sweden are surely upset with the way let let the game with Spain slip away in injury time and they have the advantage of only needing a draw on this one. I expect Sweden to play it safe and not take many risks because of that and see the draw as very likely.
Again, I will chase the draw trend that is way far behind in this tournament and risk the draw bet.
[B]My pick: draw;[/B]

Good luck!

JC

[JCtips]

[quote=SRoaD;1114919]kind of offtopic: but I want to know which are this girl

[IMG]http://i.data.bg/08/06/16/1006282_orig.jpg[/IMG][/quote]


I have to say "Go SWEDEN"!!!

[JCtips]

[quote=JCtips;1116108]My picks for today:

Greece-Spain
Greece has nothing to play for but pride (or what's left of it).
Spain will spare the main players and play with all the substitutes but apart from a few exceptions these do not have nearly the same quality as the team regulars.
I will chase the draw trend that is way far behind in this tournament and risk the draw bet.
[B]My pick: draw;[/B]

Russia-Sweden
With Arshavin back in the team the Russians greatly increase their power and they're motivated with the win against Greece.
Sweden are surely upset with the way let let the game with Spain slip away in injury time and they have the advantage of only needing a draw on this one. I expect Sweden to play it safe and not take many risks because of that and see the draw as very likely.
Again, I will chase the draw trend that is way far behind in this tournament and risk the draw bet.
[B]My pick: draw;[/B]

Good luck!

JC[/quote]

1. lost
2. lost

dangelo3 ,

I'm not a draw bettor ...it's just incredible how a tournament at this level ends the group phase with only 3 draws out of 24 games (12.5% average)...that's completly unusual

JC