Soccer Betting: UEFA Euro 2012 Draw Will Determine First-Round Fate
by Bodog Sportsbook | Nov 28 2011
The final field is now set for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, while the pressure is squarely on English Premier League leaders Manchester City after a loss to Napoli heading into Matchday 6 of UEFA Champions League
soccer betting action next week.
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Euro 2012 futures odds.
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Final draw Friday for Euro 2012Playoff winners Portugal, Ireland, Croatia, and the Czech Republic all clinched their berths in the 16-team field two weeks ago, and now all attention will be fixed on the final tournament draw scheduled for this Friday at the Ukraine Palace of Arts in Kiev.
For purposes of the draw each qualifying team has been assigned to one of four groups based on their current UEFA ranking - with the two host nations Poland and Ukraine placed with the top two seeds - and one team from each group will be drawn on Friday and placed together in a final tournament grouping consisting of four teams for first-round competition in June.
Along with Poland (66/1 odds to win Euro 2012) and Ukraine (40/1), the first group includes top-seeded Spain which is the current betting favorite on the
soccer futures board to win Euro 2012 at 5/2 odds, and second-ranked the Netherlands which is listed at 6/1 odds. Spain won both the Euro 2008 title as well as the 2010 World Cup, while the Netherlands won its only UEFA European championship crown back in 1988.
Germany, which is listed as the second favorite on the betting chart (ahead of Holland) to win Euro 2012 at 7/2 odds after finishing as the runner-up in 2008, headlines the second group for Friday's draw along with Italy (12/1), England (10/1), and Russia (28/1). Germany has won a record three championships (1972, 1980, 1996), while Italy has one previous title (1968).
The third group offers significant value potential - depending on the outcome of Friday's draw - in playoff qualifier Croatia (33/1), Greece (66/1), Sweden (66/1), and explosive Portugal (18/1), while the fourth and final group features lucrative long shots Denmark (50/1), as well as France (12/1), the Czech Republic (66/1), and Ireland (66/1).
France has earned two European championships (1984, 2000), and the Czech Republic took the title in 1976.
Barcelona remains the Champions League chalkDefending champion Barcelona defeated rival AC Milan 3-2 in a riveting Group H battle last week, as they remain the 13/8 favorite on the soccer futures betting to win the Champions League crown.
Barcelona improved to four wins and a draw in their five games so far, five points ahead of second-place AC Milan (2-1-1) which will also advance to the first knockout round and is currently listed at 22/1 odds to win the title.
Real Madrid (3/1 odds) is the only remaining club with a perfect record of five wins in five games after a 6-2 defeat of Dinamo Zagreb in Group D action last week - marking the first two goals allowed by Real Madrid in Champions League play this autumn.
Other top contenders that will be looking for positive results when Matchday 6 competition resumes on December 6 include Bayern Munchen (6/1), Manchester United (11/1), Chelsea (16/1), Arsenal (20/1), Inter Milan (20/1), and Manchester City (22/1), which desperately needs a victory over Bayern Munchen in a critical Group A battle on December 7.
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