Football Betting
Germany v Portugal Preview and Tips
There is always a so-called ‘Group of Death’ at these big tournaments and Group B has been attached that label at 2012, though Group C looks almost as competitive.
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Germany, three times European champions and twice beaten finalists, have an unmatched record when it comes to this tournament and look ready to win another major tournament having had the misfortune to come up against Spain in Austria four years ago and again in the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Coach Joachim Low believes firmly in an attacking policy and his squad should be reaching maturity now, though only veteran strike Miroslav Klose and reserve keeper Tim Wiese are over the age of 28. With eight members of Bayern Munich’s Champions League Final team in the squad, Die Mannschaft could easily come of age this year and strolled through qualification with an unblemished record, averaging more than three goals a game. The influential Bastian Schweinsteiger is struggling with a calf injury, however, and on the side of the punter is the fact that captain Philipp Lahm has never lifted a major trophy at club or international level. But Mario Gomez will cause plenty of problems for opposing defenders, as will Real Madrid’s Mezut Ozil, and though it would be no great surprise if Portugal held them to a draw at 5/2, the Germans are worthy favourites to edge a close encounter at 5/6.
Ozil’s Real team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, is capable of winning a match on his own if in the mood, though he’s not always produced his best form for his country. Portugal did have to qualify for the finals via the play-offs after finishing below Denmark, who they meet again in Group B, in their section but did so impressively with a 6-2 home win over Bosnia-Herzogovina. They have improved lately under Paulo Bento but the defence still looks vulnerable under pressure and only a few of their squad play at the very highest level in Europe. The likes of Manchester United’s Nani aren’t exactly first-choice at their clubs nowadays either.
Germany are 5/2 to win by a single goal and the Draw/Germany on the Half Time/ Full Time forecast is 7/2.
