Poland vs Slovakia
Poland meet Slovakia at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Monday night when all eyes will be on the most prolific striker in European football.
Robert Lewandowski arrives at Euro 2020 following another record breaking season with FC Bayern and with a steely determination to replicate that form on the international stage.
It is one of the curiosities of world football that Lewandowski has scored just two goals in 11 tournament appearances and that’s a record he wants to put straight starting with Slovakia on Monday. With 48 goals for club and country this season, he certainly has some momentum.
In a group containing a young and exciting Spain team and the hard-to-beat Sweden, this game is an ideal chance for both to put down a marker.
Slovakia are unbeaten in five games, but they are at huge SBOTOP odds of 401.00 to win the tournament with only Finland and the Republic of North Macedonia longer.
Talking Points
Poland still fine tuning
The Poles have emerged from their warm up games with two draws.
Poland were held to a 1-1 draw against Russia and then an altogether more entertaining clash with Iceland which ended in a 2-2 draw when Karl Swiderski scored an 88th minute equaliser, which made it a good night for the 20,000 raucous fans in the Poznan Stadium.
Poland were expected to beat the Icemen, who arrived with a record of eight defeats from their last 10 games, but the visitors twice went ahead against the run of play.
Head coach Paulo Sousa has a decision to make at either end of the pitch.
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny replaced Lukasz Fabianski for the Iceland game and is likely to keep his place, while Jakub Swierczok could make a start up front alongside Lewandowski.
Sousa will be looking for a big performance from Napoli’s Piotr Zielinski. At 27 years of age, the midfield ace is approaching his peak and he could be the man to control the pace of the game while Lewy does his thing at the business end.
In my list of 10 Bold Predictions for Euro 2020, I backed Lewandowski to bag a couple of goals against Slovakia.
Let’s see how the Euro 2020 highlights pan out, but surely the Bayern man will be in the thick of the action.
Big games suit Slovakia
Poland’s opponents arrive as underdogs but they are no pushovers, having made an unbeaten start to their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Slovakia started with two rather underwhelming draws against Cyprus and Malta and then they faced by a tougher opponent when they beat Russia 2-1.
Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar gave the Slovaks a lead before Russia came back through Mario Fernandes.
Then, in a display of sublime skill, Robert Mak beat two Russia defenders before firing home a late winner.
The tricky winger also teed up Skriniar’s goal and the Polish defence is well-advised to keep an eye on him.
But it is Skriniar who carries the hopes of his nation. After four good seasons with Inter, he has won the Scudetto and is an imposing figure at the back given that he’s strong in the air and fierce in the tackle.
The Euro 2020 betting odds don’t rate the Slovaks’ chances much. At odds of 1.65 to finish bottom of Group E and at 2.50 to finish in the top two, Stefan Tarkovic’s team has little to lose.
Much like their opponents, Slovakia have played out two draws in their warmup games, going 1-1 with Bulgaria and then a goalless draw with Austria. So they will arrive in Saint Petersburg without fear.
History
Slovakia have won four of the seven meetings between these two teams, with Poland winning twice and there has been one draw.
It has been a while since the two sides met though, the last encounter being a 2-0 victory for Slovakia in a 2013 friendly.
Both sides come into the game with just one win in six, though Slovakia have drawn four games in that time while Poland have drawn three.
Betting Tip
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Poland vs Slovakia | 1×2 Poland @ 1.84 |
| June 15, 12:00(GMT+8) |
Poland are odds on at 1.84 to win this crucial opener with Slovakia at 4.30 and the draw at 3.30.
A 1-0 victory for Poland is at odds of 5.00 and the most likely scoreline. But having watched Italy’s opener against Turkey when the Azzurri won 3-0, maybe the return to tournament football with fans in the stadia will encourage the players to put on a show.
Lewandowski is the man for the big stage and I think he’ll be the difference between the two sides.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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