EURO 2024: The Ultra previews Thursday’s games between SLOVENIA v SERBIA, DENMARK v ENGLAND and SPAIN v ITALY all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
SLOVENIA V SERBIA
2pm We have a huge Thursday at Euro 2024 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE! England are back in action against Denmark along with the biggest fixture of the tournament so far as Spain meet Italy in Group B. We kick off the action in Group C however as Slovenia meet Serbia. Not the most glamorous fixture of the day but we do have three very interesting markets ahead of us. Slovenia are in a decent position after an opening draw with Denmark while Serbia lost 1-0 to England – from a qualifying point of view this game was always going to be a must win game for both sides and then see what happens in the other fixtures. Slovenia have done well to get a draw against Denmark, and providing they win here along with England winning later they will be in a very good position. They were the complete outsiders of the Group, and indeed Serbia come into this game as the odds on favourite. Serbia are trading 1.9 with Slovenia 5.0 and the draw is 3.55 at the time of writing. Serbia played out an exceptionally boring game with England in a game with very little chances – both sides finished the game with an xG under 1.0; indeed put together their xG was under 1.0! Slovenia had a more open game against Denmark; you could say they were a little lucky conceding an xG of over 2.0 but they did battle very well.
Obviously this is a step down in class for Serbia, but they simply have to create more going forward. They offered with little in attacking against England, and while Slovenia are a limited side the opening performance from Serbia would suggest that the 1.9 is a little short here. I do expect a closer game than those odds suggest. Serbia finished four points behind Hungary in qualifying, and they started their campaign quite poorly too. I couldn’t put anyone off the Serbia lay here, however this game screams a lack of chances and goals. Under 2.5 goals is trading 1.85 and that looks cracking value in my opinion. I know both sides faced better quality opposition in their first games and you might see them open up a little here – realistically it’s a must win game even for Slovenia who drew with Denmark so they will have to go for it in that sense. I’m not going to get carried away with the stakes, but I still feel that both sides are pretty limited going forward and we’ll see a tight game here.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.85 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SloSer
DENMARK V ENGLAND
5pm We stay in Group C next as we begin a wonderful evening of football with Denmark v England. You could call every game massive at this stage, but this is likely going to decide who tops the Group and thus gets an “easier” draw. For England, most football fans have mapped out them getting to the Semi-Finals against France already! Things started well with a win over Serbia, and then the draw for Denmark against Slovenia helps too. Lose here and all that goes out of the window however. England were absolutely superb for the opening 30 minutes against Serbia but then they went into their shell and by the end of the game most fans were left shouting at Gareth Southgate rather than excited about the win. Southgate seemingly has a wealth of talent at his disposal but didn’t find the right system for everyone to play their best against Serbia. They finished the game with a very low xG, and players like Foden playing out of position really suffered. Harry Kane only got two touches in the first half too; you have two of the best players from Europe there and things just weren’t set up for them to star; you can only really blame the manager there. Obviously the highlight was the performance of Jude Bellingham – he is the star and leader that England need at the moment around midfield.
They say that cagey football is the best option in major tournament – making yourself hard to beat goes a long way. Southgates track record at major tournaments is very good so it’s hard to be harsh, but England really need to create more. They have so much attacking talent and they seem set up to be afraid of the other side more than anything else. A fascinating game awaits, because Denmark will very likely attack them. England come into the game as the favourites at 1.72 with Denmark 6.2 and the draw is 3.75 at the time of writing. These two met in the Euro 2020 Semi-Finals, we saw a tense 1-1 and England going through in Extra-Time. I wouldn’t be surprise to see another very close game here; Denmark created an xG over 2.0 against Slovenia but didn’t take their chances, while England created so little against Serbia. The hard thing is that England could do much better, but you’d have to wonder will they be set up to attack here. Under 2.5 goals is trading a couple of ticks bigger than the England win at 1.75 and I feel this is a much better value option. I wouldn’t put anyone off the England lay at the odds because I expect a closer game than those suggest, but Unders looks the value here.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.75 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/DenEng
SPAIN V ITALY
8pm We finish Thursday with a cracker as Spain meet Italy in Group B! This is the highest quality game of Euro 2024 so far, and it’s a very important one too. It goes without saying that you want to top the Group and avoid the side of the draw that will likely have France and England in it – whatever about your opinion on those two sides; they are the two tournament favourites! It’s also a massive game for Croatia who aren’t involved because they couldn’t have had a worst start when losing 3-0 to Spain. They need someone to win here to open things up for them (provided they win against Albania on Wednesday of course!). We should have a high quality game here though, and it will be interesting to see how the two sides performance. Spain have come in for the Outright market after their opening win over Croatia; the 3-0 score line was impressive but they conceded a high xG and Croatia played pretty well. I would personally still have the jury out on Spain given they conceded so many chances. Italy conceded against Albania but they was a complete shock at the start of the game – the fastest goal in European Championship history, after that they recovered well and controlled the game.
Spain come into the game as the favourites at 2.24 with Italy 3.8 and the draw is 3.35 at the time of writing. I would have liked to see Italy create a little more against Albania but they had the worst start possible in fairness. Spain created a lot but they conceded a lot too – they actually conceded a higher xG figure than they created. Italy will get chances here if they attack Spain, but the big question is will they do that? Personally, I can see Italy going into their shell a little here, which would be completely the wrong decision in my opinion. However, Italy have been average recently – they have went backwards since winning Euro 2020; they were well behind England in qualifying after missing out on the World Cup too. Spain conceded so many chances against Croatia, at 2.24 I’m happy to stay out of the match odds market – I feel we’ll see mistakes and chances at both ends of the pitch. Both Teams To Score is trading 1.97 and that looks a nice position to end a cracking day of football. This is the best day of the tournament yet!
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 1.97 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SpaIty
