Euro 2012 Group A: How many points will Poland pick up?
Backing the co-hosts to bag six points with wins over the Czechs and Greece looks tempting at 9/2, says Jack Beresford.
Franciszek Smuda will be feeling optimistic about Poland’s chances at Euro 2012 after watching his side ease to a 4-0 win over Andorra on Saturday.
The game provided a welcome confidence boost to the co-hosts, extending their unbeaten run to six games, while also providing the likes of Robert Lewandowski with a lift as he netted spectacularly for Poland.
The Borussia Dortmund star will now be raring to go ahead of Friday’s opener against Greece, who have kept only one clean sheet in their last five international games.
Greece have only one win in their last five too and will be nervous about facing Poland having failed to win any of the last three meetings between the sides.
| World Cup Qualifiers - European Zone - Group H | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moldova win | £140.00 | (6/1) | ||
| Draw | £85.00 | (13/4) | ||
| Poland win | £27.40 | (37/100) | ||
As such, punters should be reasonably confident of Poland picking up at least three points from the group stage.
However, the more optimistic among you may be confident of the Poles grabbing a few more than that, with a game against an indifferent Czech Republic side to come.
The Czechs ended their preparations for Euro 2012 on something of a low after losing 2-1 to Hungary in their final warm-up game. Worse still, injury concerns continue to dog the team’s star player Tomas Rosicky, which could further weaken their chances.
Recent history is in Poland’s favour too. The two teams met three times in the past four years, with the Czech Republic losing twice on Polish soil, with the co-hosts favourites to claim a third victory.
Backing the Poles to claim six points could therefore leave you quids in, with odds of 9/2 translating to winnings of £137.50 for anyone using bwin’s free £25 bet for registering.
Sandwiched in between these games, though, is arguably Poland’s toughest test – Russia. Dick Advocaat’s side seem to be hitting form when it matters, with big wins recorded against Denmark and Italy most recently.
Poland nicking a point here would then give them seven – a total which can be backed at odds of 6/1 and may still be a possibility given that Russia did draw a blank against lowly Lithuania in a recent friendly.
With the home crowd behind them, any momentum from an initial Greece win could see Poland capable of reaching the quarter-finals with maximum points, which can be backed at 12/1.
Whatever the case, coach Smuda knows that much will depend on the form of Lewandowski, who fired 22 league goals for Dortmund last term.
His goal threat should be enough to see Poland through to the last eight and backing them to pick up six points looks to be the way to go at the prices on offer.
Recommended bet: Poland to get six points in Group A @ 9/2
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