UEFA EURO 2016: Group B betting preview

England

England always have a good squad, for as long as anyone can remember they’ve entered major tournaments with high hopes, but they usually end up being eliminated in either the groups or the early knock-out rounds. Once again they look to have a strong squad, but there’s no guarantee that things are going to be different now. Many of their key players are not experienced internationally. Rose, Clyne, Walker, Vardy, Alli, Dier and Kane, who are all expected to play a lot, don’t have many games in an England shirt under their belt and none of them have ever played a single match in the Champions League. Still, England have a lot of quality and are the best team in this group. They should enjoy the luxury of going through in first place, with difficulties coming later on in the tournament.

Full team preview here.

Russia

Russia were runners-up in the qualifiers, finishing well below Austria, but above Sweden. As said in the main preview, they are likely to have problems with their ageing central defence. The Berezutski twins will be 34 this summer, while Ignashevich will soon be 37. The injury of Alan Dzagoev makes their defensive task even more difficult, as Russia lack quality central midfielders. Yuri Zhirkov wasn’t included in the squad for the tournament, and coach Leonid Slutsky is having troubles choosing a left back. It’s either 32-year old Dmitry Torbinski, who’s nominally a central midfielder or left winger, Dmitry Kombarov, who had a disastrous season at club level, and Georgy Schennikov, CSKA reserve. Bookies estimate Russia to be the second-best team in the group, but the reality may be more bitter for this Russian team.

Full team preview here.

Wales

Wales have already enjoyed success by Qualifying for this tournament. But the Gareth Bale-led team won’t be satisfied with just three group matches. The Welsh have a number of quality players, particularly in midfield, such as Allen, Ramsey and Ledley. Wales start with a game against Slovakia which can be regarded as crucial. If they lose, they will have to win against England, which is a difficult task for anyone. It’s fair to assume that the Welsh are likely to qualify from this group in 2nd place, but will be eliminated in the final 16, where they will face the European elite.

Full team preview here.

Slovakia

Slovakia are perhaps the underdogs of this group, but they can’t be regarded as outsiders like Hungary or Romania. They left behind Ukraine in the qualifying stage and even beat Spain once. Slovakia are quite confident defensively with veterans Durica and Skrtel in central defence and with players such as Hamsik, Kucka and Michal Duris are capable of hurting teams offensively. During the pre-Euro friendlies, they beat Germany 3:1 away from home, which proves that this side mean business and they could easily find their way into the top two of this group. However, this largely depends on the opening game against Wales.

Full team preview here.

Verdict

With England as the obvious favourites to win this group, places from second to fourth are very unclear. Having said this, Wales are the only team among the other three to have a real football star in the squad. Bale has improved his leadership qualities in the last season for Real Madrid, scoring some very important goals for his club, and his help could be crucial for Wales, and an on-song Bale could help the country to finish second in the group.

William Hill are offering a potentially very lucrative special where you can get Bale to outscore Wayne Rooney. During his career, Bale has moved up from wing back to attacking winger, while Rooney’s poor form has made him announce that he has ceased being a striker and is now a central midfielder.