EURO 2012: The Tab's Top Tips

With the Euro’s rapidly approaching, and finances getting tight towards the end of the year, The Tab has compiled a list of top tips and bets to hopefully ease the financial burden and make the tournament more interesting! The Euro’s are usually treacherous ground but here are what we believe to be some good value selections for the tournament:

Top goalscorer – Robert Lewandowski

At odds of 34-1 (William Hill), Polish striker Robert Lewandowski looks very good value to be top scorer. Although not a household name, he has scored 30 goals for Borussia Dortmund this season, propelling them to the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal cup, Dortmund’s first ever double. Poland have a relatively weak group, facing Greece, Russia and the Czech Republic, and if Lewandowski can carry his superb club form on to the international stage he will surely be there or thereabouts come the end of the tournament. Nikica Jelavic also gets an honorary mention at odds of 67-1.

This lucky lady has taken The Tab's previous betting advice

Group with most goals – Group B

Odds of 4.1-1 (Betfair) look decent odds on Group B being the highest scoring group. Teams such as Germany and the Netherlands are clinical going forward and have top forwards such as Robben, Van Persie, Huntelaar, Gomez and Muller, whilst possessing defenses that can be prone to lapses and do not quite match up to the quality of the forwards. Throw in a Portugal side that has had two 8 goal thrillers in their last 5 games and an average Danish side and this looks a good market to put a few quid on.

Croatia to beat Italy and Republic of Ireland

With odds of 8-1 (Betfair) on Croatia beating both Italy and the RoI available it is well worth putting a bit of money on. With some top players like Perišic, Modric, Jelavic and former Arsenal striker Eduardo, Croatia seem underrated by the bookies considering the experience and talent in the squad. Surprisingly the likes of Italy, despite the squad having little tournament experience and some frankly mediocre players, seem to be highly rated by punters and bookies alike, possibly with people betting by name alone. The Tab can see Croatia overcoming both Italy and Republic of Ireland, qualifying for the quarters as a result, where they could face any one of Ukraine, France, England or Sweden.

Tournament winner – France

Odds of 12-1 (William Hill) are surprisingly long for a France team that has undergone an astounding transformation since the debacle of South Africa 2010. Laurent Blanc, former Manchester United centre-half has taken the reins, the old guard have been dropped and an exciting young team of skillful players has been assembled. With the spine of the team containing players such as Lloris, Mexes, Ribery, Nasri and Benzema, France are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and should make more of an impact on the tournament than the odds suggest.

The Tab would like to point out that although these may not be favourites they do, in our opinion, represent the best value. However you bet at your own risk and you should do your own research too! And don’t go to the bookies after a few pints and bet on England…..just don’t.