Poland v Slovakia betting tips: Time for Lewandowski to fire?
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Preview and odds for Monday’s match
Poland will look to ensure their European Championship campaign lasts longer than their World Cup hopes when they face Slovakia in Saint Petersburg.
The Poles were eliminated after losing their first two matches in Russia three years ago so will hope for a better start on their return to the country here.
Monday’s match is live on ITV and kicks off at 5pm as we highlight a few potential Poland v Slovakia betting tips.
Poland v Slovakia match odds
Spain are expected to dominate Group E but a place in the last 16 is the minimum target for Poland and they are 5/6 to make a winning start.
This is Poland’s third successive appearance at a major tournament and Paulo Sousa is the man in charge, having been appointed in January with the hope of adopting a more attacking style of play than his predecessor Jerzy Brzeczek.
A 3-3 draw with Hungary in their opening World Cup qualifier hinted at plenty of entertainment to come and four of their five matches under Sousa have produced goals at both ends, with the exception being a 3-0 win against Andorra.
Slovakia look one of the weakest teams at Euro 2020 after scraping past the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the play-offs.
They are unbeaten in their opening three World Cup qualifiers though, including a 2-1 win against Russia, and are 11/10 to avoid defeat here.
Poland v Slovakia head-to-head
This is the first competitive meeting between the two teams since qualifying for the 2010 World Cup when Slovakia did the double over Poland.
Two late goals clinched a 2-1 win at home and an early own goal secured a 1-0 victory in the return game to help Slovakia top the group, ultimately reaching the last 16 where they were knocked out by Netherlands.
The most recent meeting was a friendly in 2013 when Slovakia again came out on top in a 2-0 win.
Previous XI
Slovakia: Dubravka, Pekarik, Satka, Skriniar, Hubocan, Duda, Haraslin, Kucka, Mak, Hromada, Schranz.
Key battles
All eyes will be on Robert Lewandowski as he looks to improve on a poor goalscoring record at major tournaments.
The appointment of Sousa as coach was made with a view to getting more out of the prolific Bayern Munich striker, who is just 2/1 to open the scoring and 5/1 to bag at least two.
Lewandowski also features in a Smart Boost of 10/1 to score in both halves but must find a way past Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka while midfielder Marek Hamsik will be key to Slovakia getting on the ball and finding a way to break down Poland’s defence.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
