Greek collapse on the cards against rampant Russia
Dick Advocaat’s Russia remain favourites to win Group A at 1/5 and should clinch top spot against a Greece team who look very ordinary defensively.
Heading into the final games of the group stage at Euro 2012, Russia have every reason to be confident of qualification, with bwin heavily backing Andrey Arshavin and company to qualify at odds of 1/20.
Coach Dick Advocaat evidently shares this confidence, despite watching his side throw away a 1-0 lead against Poland which would have seen them through.
Speaking after the game, the Dutchman was in bullish mood.
“For me, Russia are the best team in the tournament so far in terms of the way we have played,” he told reporters.
| World Cup Qualifiers - European Zone - Group F | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.Ireland win | £140.00 | (6/1) | ||
| Draw | £74.00 | (27/10) | ||
| Russia win | £29.00 | (9/20) | ||
They head into their final game with Greece as firm favourites for a win, which is available at 7/10 and looks a sure thing given their opponents’ poor form.
There had been some optimism for Greece heading into the tournament, but after rescuing an unlikely draw with Poland, Fernando Santos’ side were unable to repeat the trick against the Czech Republic, going down to a 2-1 defeat that leaves them at odds of 17/4 to qualify.
The match against Russia is made all the more daunting by the fact that the Greeks have failed to win any of the five previous meetings between the sides, losing four and drawing one.
Greek hopes of a win, available at 4/1, could ultimately rest of the efforts of strikers Theofanis Gekas and Dimitrios Salpingidis, who have both netted for the Euro 2004 winners at the tournament so far.
The match against Russia is made all the more daunting by the fact that the Greeks have failed to win any of the five previous meetings between the sides, losing four and drawing one.
Russia v Greece – all the bets
The pair are both available for an any time goal at 5/2 and with Greece scoring in each of their last seven games, backing the former winners to score at 31/50 could be one to bank on.
The teams last met in a friendly back in November, with the game ending 1-1, and though a draw at 27/10 would see Russia through, Advocaat will be eager to secure top spot with a win.
Roman Shirokov scored on that occasion and after grabbing one against the Czech Republic, he could be good for an any time goal at 9/4, bringing returns of £81.25 for those using bwin’s free £25 bet for registering.
Alan Dzagoev may also be among the goalscorers, having netted three times in Russia’s opening two games, and he can be backed to score with Russia winning at odds of 6/1 this time out.
Despite admitting that the youngster “has a lot of talent” though, Advocaat has called on the team “to just make sure we qualify in the next game”.
“Everyone is good but we’ll have to show that again on Saturday,” he warned.
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