Euro 2020 qualification Betting Tips: France and Portugal start their campaigns
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Preview and odds for Friday’s ties
The qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships are underway, and after a shock 3-0 defeat for Scotland in Kazakhstan last night, will there be any other surprises tonight?
We’ve got a full preview for England’s match against Czech Republic here, but France and Portugal are also in action and hoping to get off to the best possible start.
We preview it all here, starting with Bulgaria v Montenegro.
Bulgaria v Montenegro
England’s Group A rivals will hope to start with three points. The Three Lions and Czech Republic are favourites to qualify from the group, but grabbing a win in this one could setup a challenge to get through the group.
At home, Bulgaria are the favourites to take the three points at 5/4, but it’s expected to be a close encounter as Montenegro aren’t too far out for the win at 5/2.
Each side have won a game apiece in previous meetings, with two draws as well. If you reckon they’ll share the points, a draw is 21/10.
If you think both sides will get on the scoresheet, that’s 21/20.
Luxembourg v Lithuania
Luxembourg and Lithuania also face a tough task in Group B, with reigning champions Portugal and dark horses Serbia favourites to advance.
Lithuania haven’t won in each of their last five. In fact they’ve racked up five consecutive defeats which gives them the title of underdogs in this one. They’re 13/5 to notch a win.
With home advantage, and a better record than their opponents of late, Luxembourg stand at 6/5 favourites to get off to a winning start.
Luxembourg’s last two wins have come to nil. If you think they’ll do the same again, that’s 23/10. Both of those have also been 3-0 wins. Fancy another? That’s 20/1.
Portugal v Ukraine
Fernando Santos’ Portugal side are odds-on favourites to win Group B at 1/2, so it’s not a surprise that they’re also favourites to win here.
Cristiano Ronaldo returns to the side after sitting out of recent call-ups, but the Euro 2016 winners are still unbeaten without him recently. They’re 4/9 to beat Ukraine here.
If Ukraine can start their campaign with a shock win here, it could put them in a good place to go on and qualify. They’re 15/2 outsiders to cause an upset here.
After his return to the squad, Ronaldo is expected to slot straight back into the role he left. That means he’ll front the Portuguese attack, and he’s 15/8 to score first. You can also get 8/11 on him as an anytime scorer.
Andre Silva has filled the Ronaldo void, and will take the Ronaldo role in the future. He’s 7/5 to get on the scoresheet anytime too.
Albania v Turkey
Turkey will begin their qualification campaign with an away tie in Albania. With France hot favourites to take top spot in the group, there will be a race for the runner up spot, so Turkey will need to get off to a winning start.
They’re favourites to get the three points in this one at 11/10, but Albania are no pushovers so it could prove a trickier test than they realise.
They beat Wales 1-0 in their last match in a shock result, so they can perform when required. They’re 14/5 to grab three points.
If you aren’t backing either side to have enough up front, the draw is 21/10 with us. Everton’s Cenk Tosun hasn’t been a regular starter this season, and Burak Yilmaz is hit and miss. They’re the two favourites to open the scoring at 11/2 and 4/1 respectively.
Bekim Balaj grabbed Albania’s winner against Wales. He’s a 7/2 anytime scorer.
Andorra v Iceland
The surprise success story in Euro 2016, knocking out England and getting all the way the quarter-finals, Iceland will be hoping they can qualify again this time around for another European adventure.
Andorra aren’t expected to provide much resistance and are fancied to finish bottom of the group. An Andorra win here is 14/1, with Iceland 2/9 heavy favourites to bag a vital three points.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been having a great season at Everton, and is one of the focal points for the Icelandic side. He’s 7/2 to break the deadlock, or 7/5 to net anytime.
Alfred Finnbogason is likely to spearhead the attack, and has been on fire for Augsburg in the Bundesliga this campaign, bagging 10 in 15 games. He’s 14/5 to score first, or evens to score anytime.
Iceland to Win to Nil is 6/10.
Moldova v France
The current World Cup holders and early pre-tournament favourites to win Euro 2020 despite not having kicked a ball on their qualifying campaign at 4/1, France will want to make a statement and win big over Moldova.
Both sides are in similar form, though France have faced much tougher opposition than their European counterparts. Moldova are the heaviest underdogs of the night at 33/1.
The French side is filled with attacking quality as well as some of the world’s best in defence. Unsurprisingly, they’re odds on for the win at 1/11.
The attacking talent that France boss Didier Deschamps has at his disposal could run riot tonight. Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe are favourites to kick-off the scoring at 13/5, and odds on anytime at 3/4.
You can also get odds of 7/2 on either of them bagging more than one.
If you think there will be a lot of goals in the game, it’s 5/4 for 4+ goals to be scored.
Click here for the latest Euro 2020 qualification odds
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
