EURO 2024: The Ultra previews Monday’s three games between ROMANIA v UKRAINE, BELGIUM v SLOVAKIA and AUSTRIA v FRANCE all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ROMANIA V UKRAINE
2pm A Monday full of football? It could only be a major tournament summer! Another action packed day ahead on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE, and we kick it off with Romania v Ukraine in Group E. This is the least glamorous fixture of the day with Belgium and France involved in games later, but despite Ukraine being clear favourites it is the most open market of the day. We don’t have an odds on favourite here, but Ukraine are well fancied at 2.08 with Romania trading 4.3 and the draw is 3.5 at the time of writing. This is huge game for both sides given that Belgium are fully expected to top this Group – and we all know how good Belgium at are qualifying; it might be a different story in the knockouts! Ukraine are the favourites to finish second, and no doubt they will have the support of most neutrals given what they have been through. They had to play all their qualifiers on the road because of the war with Russia, eventually coming through the playoffs because they were in a Group with England and Italy. Obviously you could say not getting to play with home advantage has an impact here but they only managed three clean sheets getting here; of course you have to factor in they played England and Italy in those games.
Romania surprisingly topped their Group, finishing five points ahead of Switzerland. That was obviously superb for them, but looking at the under-lining figures they definitely over-performed in front of goal. They were absolutely terrible in the Nations League – they got relegated from a B Group that had Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland and Montenegro. Romania were exceptionally tight at the back in qualifying, only conceding five goals. Obviously the Ukraine record at the back is a worry but I feel we’re going to have a very cagey game here. It’s also fair to say that it will likely be a pretty low quality game too; you’d imagine whoever goes through will likely exit at the Last 16 stage for example. Under 2.5 goals is trading 1.73 and that looks cracking value in my opinion. Also of interest is Both Teams Not To Score at 1.9. I would be surprised if we saw a huge amount of chances here, I feel it will be the type of game that’s 0-0 at half-time and then things might open up in the second half. Unders isn’t quite a five star NAP, but it’s a confident four point bet.
The Ultra Says:
Four points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.73 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/RomUkr
BELGIUM V SLOVAKIA
5pm We stay in Group E next as Belgium meet Slovakia. Most football fans will be expecting a Belgium win here as Slovakia are one of the rank outsiders at Euro 2024. Belgium come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.51 with Slovakia 7.6 and the draw is 4.7 at the time of writing. Despite Slovakia being the second highest price to win the tournament – they are trading at 800.0 in the Outright market – they could actually get through the Group stage given how open this Group is behind Belgium. This is their third European Championship which is a fantastic achievement for them – you’d have to say given their ranking they were pretty lucky with the qualifying Group they got. Apart from Portugal, they had some very winnable games. In the Nations League, they were down in a C Group, and couldn’t even top that finishing third in a Group with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus. They have a lot of experience in their side and that will stand to them in the big moments, but they created very little in qualifying and massively over-performed in front of goal. How much they can create going forward will definitely be the issue here.
Belgium sailed through qualifying, as you would expect – they always do. Their qualifying record is incredible, but obviously the jury is still out on when they get to major tournaments. They have become a side who fluff their lines at the important time, but perhaps they have less pressure this time around now their “golden generation” is gone. They still have some fantastic footballers though and a superb squad headed by Kevin De Bruyne. You would worry about Belgium when the heat comes on, but I feel the 1.51 is too big on them here. Slovakia are a pretty average side when you look at the under-lining numbers and they are there for the taking. Belgium should be closer to 1.4 than 1.5 in my opinion, and although we will very likely see Slovakia sit back and play for a 0-0, I feel Belgium will break though at some point. We’re getting so much value at 1.51 I feel Belgium are worth five from five points here.
The Ultra Says:
Five points win Belgium to beat Slovakia at 1.51 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BelSlo
AUSTRIA V FRANCE
8pm We finish Monday night in Group D as Austria meet France. These two will know each other very well from being in a Nations League together – this Group all actually know each other well because France were in a qualifying Group with the Netherlands. Both of these sides performed very poorly in the Nations League, they were miles off Croatia and Denmark – Austria got relegated but they were only one point behind France. We saw two different sides in qualifying though, and that Nations League did come at an odd time for France in fairness. France topped their Group easily with the Netherlands in it while Austria did very well in a Group with Belgium – in the end they were only one point behind Belgium. They only dropped points twice, both times they played Belgium. Austria are a very good side on their day, but they are short of top class and struggle when they come up against the top sides – just like France here. It’s no surprise to see Didier Deschamps’ side trading as the odds on favourites; France are 1.58 with Austria 6.2 and the draw is 4.7 at the time of writing. Every Manchester United fan will know Austria manager Ralf Rangnick very well; he has absolutely transformed this side and improved them a lot.
His time at Manchester United was pretty poor; basically the squad didn’t play for him and he kept telling the truth to the press about the state of the club – he was never going to last long doing that! Rangnick has only lost once competitively as Austria manager, so while I would personally have France as the tournament favourites in the long-term for Euro 2024, I wouldn’t be rushing to back them at 1.58 here in their first game. I wouldn’t be totally surprised to see France open with a draw here, and we could see an over-reaction in the Outright market if that happened. Austria do have some injuries – for example their captain David Alaba – that’s going to be a big negative for them but I do feel that they can push France all the way here. I expect Rangnick to have them perfectly set-up and France to have to work very hard. Under 2.5 goals is trading 2.28 at the time of writing and I would personally have this a little closer to 2.0. I know France have an absolute wealth of attacking talent in their squad so I’m going to keep stakes a little limited, but I feel Austria can do well here and we will see a low scoring game.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.28 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/AstFra
