Euro 2008 preview: Football betting tips

The European football championships are upon us on 7 June and a quick glance at the revised tournament format reveals why two sides stand out in the outright betting like a winking, goalscoring phenomenon with a dodgy, greasy haircut and a ruthless, steely-eyed midfielder who takes penalties for fun. Click here for a free £200 to bet on Euro 2008 with Canbet Euro2008 is threatening to be a costly exercise for English bookies. This time around they cannot rely upon the thousands of mug punters who, every two years, can be trusted to lump blindly on England in the forlorn hope that they will break the habit of a lifetime by bringing home a trophy. However, they will probably be spared the agony of a huge payout as the sympathy vote is unlikely to go to the two sides most likely to win this year. Let's face it, nobody likes perennial finalists Germany, who head the betting at 4/1, while Portugal's eye-catching odds of 15/2 with CanBet are unlikely to be snapped up by anyone other than Manchester United fans. And yet one of these two sides will almost certainly reach the last two. And the reason for this statement is not just built on the relative merits of both sides. Sure, Germany's solid team structure, reliant on a tight defesive unit and reinforced by an experienced midfield boasting the likes of Torsten Frings, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Ballack cannot be overlooked. In attack Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez, Lukas Posolski and Kevin Kuranyi each have genuine claims for selection - and so it will be no surprise if Joachim Loew's men go one better than their semi-final finish at the last world cup. Similarly, Portugal have a perfect blend of experience and skill. The likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Real Madrid's Pepe and Chelsea's new signing Jose Bosingwa form the platform upon which the talented Deco, Simao and Ricardo Quaresma can show off their sublime abilities. And we all know what Cristiano Ronaldo brings to the party. Crucially, though, there is another good reason for looking out for the Germans and Portugal - and it has everything to do with the revised tournament format this year. Uefa have decided that, in order to grant every side the same number of days from which to recover from their matches, the qualifying teams from Group A will only play those from Group B in the knockout stages before the final. And the same rule applies for Groups C and D. So, much like a tennis tournament, the first half of the draw will only meet the second in the final. In a draw skewed by dodgy seeding, two weak host nations (Austria and Switzerland) who didn't have to qualify on merit and both of whom find themselves in the same half of the draw, the balance of the tournament weighs heavily in favour of two sides. Step forward Germany (who face Group opponents Austria, Croatia and Poland) and Portugal (who play a Czech Republic side minus Tomasz Rosicky and Pavel Nedved, Switzerland and Turkey in Group A). In the other half of the draw 7/1 second favourites Spain, who have arguably their strongest ever side, should make light work of Group D opponents Greece, Sweden and Russia, but then they meet whomever emerges unscathed from the Group of Death involving France, Italy, Holland and Romania. If Luis Aragones's side get though that, they will then almost certainly have to play the other Group C side (probably France or Italy) in the semi-finals. It's even worse for France (9/1), Italy (7/1) and Holland (14/1). Say, for example, Italy come second in Group C. The Azzurri will probably then have to meet Spain in the quarter-finals. If successful, they will be rewarded for their efforts with a rematch with probably France or Holland before taking on either Portugal or Germany in the final. We all know that Germany have a tendency to go deep in tournaments anyway while Portugal have being going from strength to strength in the European Championships. Their record reads: 1996 quarter-finalists; 2000 semi-finalists, 2004 finalists. Back them both and then lay them off when they clash in the semi-finals. Verdict: 2pts back to lay Germany @ 4/1; 4pts back to lay Portugal @ 9/1 Click here for a free £200 to bet on Euro 2008 with Canbet