Euro 2016 Betting

Euro 2016 Group E Betting Tips - Team By Team By Guide

Euro 2016 Group E Betting Tips
Euro 2016 Group E : Belgium the tournament dark horses

We now arrive at Group E in our comprehensive list; Republic of Ireland kick off Group E against Sweden on Monday 13th June at 17.00 GMT scheduled to be broadcast live on BBC. Here is the list of teams that have been drawn from the 4 spots and into this group, as well as their FIFA World Ranking.

  • Belgium ( 2 )
  • Italy ( 15 )
  • Republic of Ireland ( 31 )
  • Sweden ( 36 )

Based on the FIFA World Rankings of these teams it would seem that 1st and 2nd are sewn up - but are they?

Belgium : Group E Betting Guide

Belgium Group E Betting Tips
Belgium : Group E favourites could have their work cut out

Belgium have an amazing team on paper and have been touted as being potential winners of a major tournament for some time now and their World Ranking of 2 would suggest this.

How Did They Qualify and from Which Group?

Belgium qualified in 1st place in Group B ahead of Wales and only lost 1 game during the whole of the qualifying rounds, incidentally against Wales. They also scored a whopping 24 goals and only conceded 5! Talk about being useful at both ends of the pitch.

Top Goal scorer in Qualifying

Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard share the top goal scorer during qualifying achievement. Hazard has struggled for form this year at Chelsea but maybe being away from the pressure of London will allow him to finally play with freedom. I'm sure his opponents will be hoping this doesn't happen. Whereas De Bruyne was doing great for Manchester City before he got injured, he then came back from injury and promptly started performing great again so both are big assets to Belgium.

Style of Play and Manager

Belgium have a mean defence, however they're full backs are both converted centre backs which means that they do not attack as easily as they would like but defensively they are sound. Their midfield and attacking options are the envy of so many other countries though, with Hazard and Mertens on either flank and De Bruyne playing behind Lukaku, this team could destroy whatever is put in front of them.

Marc Wilmots has been in charge of his native Belgium for a while now, since 2012 in fact. He did have a career in politics before coming back to football management in 2009 and managed to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2014.

Record in Previous European Championships

Belgium were runners up in Euro 1980 but since then have only qualified twice in 1984 & 2000 respectively (and that was as the host nation) and both times they failed to get out of the groups. So history is not on their side.

Group Final Standing Prediction : 2nd

This will be a shock prediction but Belgium seem to be a team that doesn't hit the heights to match the quality of their players at international level. They struggled in the World Cup and for some reason we can't shake the idea that they will struggle here also.

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Italy : Group E Betting Guide

Italy Group E Betting Tips
Italy : Solid in defence but a lack of goals could be a problem

World Champions in 2010 in which Zidane planted that infamous head butt on Marco Materazzi, Italy have always been a major player in every international tournament for a long time. They'll be hoping that this is their year to give goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon a great send off.

How did they Qualify and from which Group?

Italy topped Group H above Croatia to qualify automatically and did so 4 points clear with an unbeaten home and away record. They didn't score a lot of goals (16) but as ever with the Italians they did not concede a lot either which is the attitude they will bring into the Euros.

Top Goalscorer in Qualifying

This is where Italy may struggle, for all of their defensive quality; their top goal scorer was Southampton striker Graziano Pelle with only 3 goals in 7 appearances. Conte will know this and I think Italy will feel that if they can go ahead in games, they will be able to see them out.

Style of Play and Manager

Italy are notoriously known for being a defensive minded team and keeping possession well and Euro 2016 should be no exception. They have top quality centre backs with Chiellini being a particular stand out player, a world class goalkeeper and excellent midfield players.

Future Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is in charge of his native Italy and he is a born winner. He won Serie A with Juventus as a manager 3 years running and Italy were unbeaten in the group stage. He's a tough manager that demands a lot of his players and should be an interesting character.

Record in Previous European Championships

Italy always seem to do well in international tournaments and were runners up to Spain in Euro 2012 as they were in Euro 2000. They've also been Champions in 1968 and reached 2 semi-finals. Italy know how to compete in major tournaments.

Group Final Standing Prediction : 1st

This took a lot of thought between Belgium and Italy but we just think that Italy have that tournament experience, managerial experience and rock solid defence to take first above the Belgians.

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Republic of Ireland : Group E Betting Guide

Republic of Ireland Group E Betting Tips
Republic of Ireland : Could be a short tournament for the Republic

Yet another Home Nation to qualify for this year's Euros, Republic of Ireland did extremely well to get this far with a result against Germany being key to their qualification. Can Martin O'Neill mastermind a history making campaign?

How did they Qualify and from Which Group?

ROI finished Group D in 3rd place behind Germany and Poland and therefore had to participate in a playoff to qualify against Bosnia and Herzegovina. They managed to beat Edin Dzeko and co. and qualify for their second European Championships in a row.

Top Goalscorer in Qualifying

ROI legend and all-time top goal scorer Robbie Keane shared this honour with Stoke City striker Jon Walters, both of them scored remarkable goals to fire ROI into the finals and will be an asset during the finals.

Style of Play and Manager

Martin O'Neill likes to play attacking, flowing football and he has managed to instil that into his ROI side. This was vindicated by his strike force scoring 13 goals between them in qualifying and despite not having the best defence; ROI can cause teams a lot of problems.

O'Neill himself is in fact from Northern Ireland and was an international for them whilst also winning back to back European Cups with Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough in the 1970's. He's a quiet man by nature but with Roy Keane at his side, his players will feel the pressure to perform.

Record in Previous European Championships

ROI have only qualified for the Euros twice before and failed to progress from the group stage either time.

Group Final Standing Prediction : 4th

Sorry Irish fans, we think this will be a carbon copy of the last Euros in which Ireland failed to perform. The group is just too hard, it's like a group of death, even the team closest to them in ability has 11 goal Zlatan Ibrahimovic in it. Could be a short tournament for the Republic.

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Sweden : Group E Betting Guide
Sweden Group E Betting Tips
Sweden : Can Zlatan Ibrahimovic fire Sweden into the knockout stages

Sweden were so close to getting to the World Cup in 2014 but were pipped to the post. Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed that the World Cup would be boring and pointless without him in it, lucky for us, he will be in this seasons Euros.

How did they Qualify and from Which Group?

Just like the Republic of Ireland, Sweden had to qualify via a playoff after finishing in 3rd place in Group G behind Austria and Russia respectively. They actually only lost 2 games throughout and were unlucky not to qualify automatically, Leonid Slutskiy performed a miracle turnaround after taking over Russia half way through the qualifiers. In the playoff, Sweden didn't do their '1 man team' reputation any good as Zlatan destroyed Denmark single-handedly to drag his team to the Euros.

Top Goalscorer in Qualifying

It was the one and only Zlatan Ibrahimovic with 11 goals! There were only about 2 games where he didn't score. If Sweden do anything it will be because Zlatan decided that they do.

Style of Play and Manager

This is a difficult one because we feel it is slightly harsh to say that everything goes through Zlatan and they all play to his strengths to give them the best chance of winning, but that is essentially what they do. They have fast full backs with good crossing ability in Olsson and Lustig and Zlatan just puts them in the net for fun.

Erik Hamren is a fellow Swede who took over to manage the national team from Lars Lagerback in 2009. He was managing Rosenberg to a Norwegian title at the time and remained there whilst managing the Swedes until a few months ago.

Record in Previous European Championships

Sweden did not qualify for a European Championship until 1992 and that's a lie because as the host nation they didn't need to qualify at all, but since then they have qualified for almost all of the Euros but not done a lot.

Group Final Standing Prediction : 3rd

Zlatan will not like this, but we think that Sweden will fall behind Italy and Belgium to finish in 3rd place. They have an excellent chance of being one of the 'Best Losers' and qualify anyway though.

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Predicted Group E Final Standings
  • Italy - 1st
  • Belgium - 2nd
  • Sweden - 3rd
  • Republic of Ireland - 4th
How far will Italy and Belgium go?

The winner of this group will play the runner up of Group D, who we have down as Croatia so I think Italy could come through that and reach at least the quarter finals.

The runner up of Group E will play the winner of Group F which we think will actually be a winnable game for Belgium if things go as we predict. People think Belgium will go far but I'd be surprised if they got further than the quarter-finals.

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