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Hampden Park will conveniently host home side Scotland against the Czech Republic on Monday 14th June at 14:00. This can be viewed on the BBC. The Scots will have a home side advantage, albeit with a 12,00 strong crowd. Will that make a difference?
With England and Croatia being the top seeds of Group D, both sides will be eager for a win here, and the loser will certainly be against the odds to progress.
Steven Clark’s tartan army would love to get off to a good start here in front of the home crowd. They will know they’ve got a tough game later this week, when meeting rivals England at Wembley on Friday. Scotland have met the Czechs nine times since 1999 and have won four, lost four and drawn one. However, the good news is Scotland have won their last two meetings together, both in 2020 UEFA Nations league. This may give the Scots the confidence boost needed in a seemingly tight-knit event. With Nisbet, Dykes and Che Adams up front they stand a fair chance.
Although the Scots have beaten the Czechs twice on the bounce, the Scots still remain the lowest seeded team in group D. The Czech team is FIFA ranked at 40, while the Scots at 44.
The Czechs are somewhat an improved side and have West Ham duo Vladimir Coufal and midfielder Tomas Soucek. Soucek has scored 13 goals within 51 games since the start of 2020. He has also bagged seven goals from the 35 Czech caps he’s received and one of those was a recent World Cup qualifier hat-trick. For the latest on team news check our Euro 2020 News and Updates page.
Who would expect the FIFA ranked 40 and 44 teams to be in with a shout in Euro 2020? But Greece defied the odds back in 2004, when they won at 150/1 odds. Check out the latest 888sport outright Euro 2020 Winner Odds where Scotland and the Czechs are priced at 250/1 and 125/1, respectively.
If you have an opinion on who you think will win, the standard win market is appealing. The odds are as close as you'll ever find; with the Czechs at 17/10 and the Scots the slight underdog at 15/8. 888sport are also offering 39/20 about the draw.
The footie fan who loves statistics would probably think the draw is a value bet in this game. Since these teams are ranked 44 and 40 by FIFA, and have both won four of their last nine games played.
We don’t know why, but fact is the draw is an unappealing bet for most punters. We seem to look for an excuse to lean either side of the draw. We can’t help thinking Scotland have taken the scalps from the Czechs twice last year, and they are playing on home soil. Therefore, we’re taking the 15/8 with 888sport in a very close match.
This interesting match will be screened by the BBC. Online viewers can log into iPlayer and view there too. At this stage of the tournament there are three games per day, played at: 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00. So, be sure to get your Euro 2020 Betting Odds wagers placed early! It is very easy to miss a game with these staggered start times.
The Hampden Park stadium may not be jam-packed with spectators, but this is still a huge occasion for Scottish international football, bearing in mind it will be the first big tournament played since the World cup of 1998.
We genuinely think this game is as wide open as the betting odds suggest. Not only the odds, but the stats and the FIFA rankings consider this a “coin toss” too!
Can you see any value in the odds offered in either team, and if so, why? Guys, let us know your opinions and predictions via Twitter @Betting_COUK.
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