Euro 2012 Betting
| Euro Betting Sites | Sign-up Bonus | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bet365.com | 100% to $200 Cash |
| 2 | PaddyPower.com | Money Back Specials |
| 3 | BlueSquare.com | £25 Free Bet |
| 4 | 5Dimes.eu |
Low Margin Odds |
| 3 | Betfair.com | £25 Free Bet |
We’re 28 games into Euro 2012 and just four teams remain in the hunt for European football’s biggest prize. The bookies’ favourites at the outset, Spain and Germany are still on course to meet in the final, but is there a twist to come in the semi-finals? This is discussed in this article, but if you’re in a hurry to bet Euro you can use the menu to the left or follow some of the advice below.
www.bet365.com is a great site to join if you’ve never had an account with them before. They offer a 100% initial deposit match up to $200/£100/€100 free. This is a cash bonus with just three times rollover. They are highly reputable and owned by the same family that owns the English Premier League franchise Stoke City FC. Here you’ll find vast number of prematch markets, live in-play betting mobile phone support and much more. Also it’s a good idea to follow us on twitter @SBSPicks where we re-tweet special offers and enhanced odds other bookies are offering for Euro 2012 betting.
Back on the topic of Euro 2012…
Spain vs Portugal
Spain is matched up against Portugal who, while a world class team, are probably the surprise package of Euro 2012. They come out of a tough group that included World Cup runners up Holland, and had one of the easier quarter-finals against a rather insipid Czech side. After their opening defeat to Germany, they were priced as high as 25/1 to win the tournament despite Holland also losing.
They’ll face a formidable challenge in Spain and Paulo Bento has his work cut out for him in devising a strategy to keep the possession based Spanish attack in check. So much of Portugal’s chances in the tie come down to how Cristiano Ronaldo plays; he has a reputation of selfish playing style, but as a legitimate contender for the title ‘best player in the world’ he can hack apart any defence when he’s in confident mood.
Portugal’s main hope is that the extremely long season that the likes of Iniesta and Xavi have behind them starts to take its toll and Ronaldo has one of the games of his life, but the Spanish midfield have shown no signs of slowing down yet in the tournament. Also, a few pundits have begun to question if they’re the total package after relatively disappointing outings against the Czech Republic and France. It’s clear from the odds that these performances have had an effect, and bookmakers are giving Portugal a fighting chance to go through, pricing them up at 7/4, about a 35% shot.
Germany vs. Italy
On the other side of the draw, Germany plays Italy. The Germans have had something of a march to the semi-finals, winning their 3 group games and then thrashing Greece in the quarter finals. Their only true test came against Holland and they proved much too strong for a Dutch team that never showed up at this tournament. Should they reach the final they have a number of options available to them to take on their likely opponents Spain. Miroslav Klose represents a real aerial threat to the small Spanish defence and the likes of Ozil, Muller, and Schweinsteiger would give the Spanish midfield their toughest task to date.
The Germans still have to overcome Italy to book their place in the final though, and that’s no guarantee. The match fixing scandal that rocked Italian football seems to have had no affect in the camp and their starting price of 17/1 now looks foolishly high. Italy showed good spirit in beating England on penalties in a match where the bookies couldn’t separate them with all 3 outcomes priced up at around 2/1.
The standout player of the game was Andrea Pirlo who displayed all of the qualities expected of a talisman midfielder in spades, capped with his wonderful penalty in the shootout. It has to be said though, that Italy failed to win in regular time against what was a poor England team that averaged 39% possession through the tournament.
Maybe there should be some question marks there, but we only have to look back a fortnight to their draw with favourites Spain so they definitely have the ability to stay with the best on their day. The bookies are giving Italy marginally less chance of overturning Germany than they are of Portugal beating Spain, pricing Italy up at between 7/4 and 2/1 depending on where you shop and a generous 4/1 to win the match in regular time.
Outright Euro 2012 Winner – Who to Bet?
Overall the ‘Tournament Winner’ market can’t separate Spain and Germany pricing them both up at 7/4 to win the tournament outright, but I think the organisation, expansive game, and deep bench of the Germans that allows them to change things up should they need to might just be too much for Spain if they meet in the final.
Outsiders Italy and Portugal are both equally priced at 6/1, but I think Italy might have a slightly better chance against Germany and they’ve proved they can hold their own against Spain while Portugal have already lost to Germany, so there is a little bit of value there. Overall of the favourites I’d choose Germany and of the outsiders I’d choose Italy, and at 6/1 they probably represent the best value of the remaining teams.
As far as our official tips: @SBSPicks went a disappointing -1.80 units over 28 matches, and has decided to retire on providing tips individually on the remaining three matches. Our final tip is a get even wager on Germany winning outright. This is stake 1.03 units on odds 2.75 that Germany wins Euro 2012.
Side credits: Congrats to PokerAussie over on PAL for discussing before the tournament began how much value Italy and Portugal had. Also ironically a bingo sites affiliate dominated our Euro 2012 tipping contest on tough props beating a field that included betting industry members. Congrats to him as well.