Euro 2012
2012-06-21 - Czech Republic vs Portugal
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Euro 2012 QF
Venue: National Stadium Warsaw, Warsaw
Thursday 21th June – Kickoff time: 20:45 GMT+1
Czech Republic
Michal Bilek’s side advanced as Group A winners after victories against Greece and Poland. No one thought that the Czech Republic can progress after being trashed in the opening game by Russia, but they showed character in their remaining games and managed to come around and win both games.
I’d say that their best match in the group stages was played against co-hosts Poland. The Czechs survived the first 20 minutes when Poland could have scored from one of their numerous chances, but after that the Czech Republic gradually took over the control of the game and were rewarded by Petr Jiracek’s decisive goal 18 minutes from time.
The Czech Republic qualified from the group stage with a negative goal difference and reached the quarter finals for the third time in their history and have yet to lose one after victories against Portugal (1996) and Denmark (2004).
The Czechs have faced Portugal in two competitive games before, both European Championship final tournaments. In 1996 they overcame the Selecção (1-0) to go all the way to the final, then Portugal were victorious at Euro 2008 on matchday two of the group stages.
Captain Tomas Rosicky is still a doubt with an Achilles injure having missed the match against Poland and also missed training in the week.
Probable Czech Republic line-up :
Cech
Selassie, Sivok, Kadlec, Limbersky
Plasil, Hubschman
Jiracek, Kolar, Pilar
Baros
Portugal
Portugal also recovered from a defeat in their first match, in their case against Germany, to claim second place in Group B thanks to wins against Denmark and the Netherlands.
The only other time they lost their opening game was in 2004, when they went all the way to the final as hosts of the competition. This time should be more difficult to reach the final, they will have to take on Spain or France in the semis if they’ll manage to eliminate the Czech Republic.
Portugal is playing their fifth consecutive quarter final at the European Championships, which means that they have never failed to progress from the group stage.
Paulo Bento is unlikely to change the side that won their last game from the group stage against Netherlands, there are no fresh injury concerns for the Portuguese.
Probable Portugal line-up :
Patricio
Pereira, Alves, Pepe, Coentrao
Meireles, Veloso, Moutinho
Nani, Postiga, Ronaldo
The Betting Verdict
We’ve seen two different types of Portugal so far, one that needed to take the initiative against a Denmark side that already had three points at that time and Paolo Bento’s team was on top of the situation for the most part of the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the first half and missing a lot of chances at 2-1.
Next, they were up against a Dutch side that was desperate for points and it was that match when we’ve seen the best of Portugal until now. This team is built for counter-attack and we’ve seen some great samples of that (yes, with the contribution of a poor Holland side) with Ronaldo finally coming to life after some modest performances.
However, against the Czech Republic they will likely be invited to have the initiative, I’d say that the Czechs also prefer the counter attacks with the likes of Jiracek and Pilar in front, two interesting players that can do a lot of damage.
The Czechs should be worried about Milan Baros’ poor form, he did nothing to stand out so far and if they want to progress to the semis they’ll need every one of their players at their best in this clash against a classy looking Portugal side.
I can’t say I like the odds for Portugal’s win, I’d say that the match will be more balanced than the odds reflect it, but of course if I’d have to pick a winner that would be Portugal.
Both teams to score seems like a good option to consider here, it has happened in two out of three games in the group stages in both teams case, you can find it at good prices, around evens. For those who want to take some risks I’d recommend Portugal to win and at least three goals to be scored.
The Pick :
Czech Republic 1-2 Portugal
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Both teams to score at 2.00 at PaddyPowerConfidence: 8/10 (Main bet)
Try Portugal to win and at least three goals scored at 3.20 at Ladbrokes
Confidence: 5/10
