Thursday's action in European Championship Group B comes from Copenhagen where Denmark take on a Belgium side who were very impressive in winning their opening match.
Group B Betting Update
The opening round of matches in this group delivered wins for Belgium (3-0) over Russia and Finland (1-0) against Denmark.
Belgium are now 1 / 5 to top this quartet with Denmark next best at 15/2, Finland are trading at around 10.5/1 and Russia 40/1. Remember the are four best third place finish places available to make it to the knockout rounds but to finish in the top 2 and be 100% sure Russia are roughly 19/10 and Finland can be backed at around 17/10 with Denmark 14/10.
Denmark
Denmark's opening match against Finland was also staged in Copenhagen, the Danes were odds on favourites to win but the game was completely overshadowed by the collapse of Christian Eriksen just before half time with the score at 0-0. Denmark had been the better side for much of the first half but after the decision to restart the game was made they conceded on 60 minutes and then missed a penalty on 74 minutes.
Denmark had been unbeaten in qualifying for these finals, finishing as runners up to Switzerland by 1 point with a record of 4 wins and 4 draws and their overall form coming into the tournament was solid. However another defeat here would see them heading into the final group match with Russia needing a win and then hoping that would be enough to squeeze through, perhaps as a third place finisher.
Denmark's odds to win the tournament are now around 50/1 (from 25/1)
Belgium
Belgium also had a home crowd to deal with in their opening match against Russia in Saint Petersburg but they made short work of a potentially tricky game, coasting to a 3-0 win. Belgium were in front after just 10 minutes through Lukaku, Mernier added a second before half time and Lukaku struck again just before the end in a match Belgium dominated. Kevin de Bruyne missed the Russia game and Eden Hazard came on as a late substitute.
In qualifying for these finals Belgium topped their group with a perfect 10 wins from 10 scoring a whopping 40 goals and conceded just 3.
At the time of writing Belgium’s odds to win the tournament are around 11/2 (from 13/2), just a shade bigger than those of France and England.
Recent Head to Head
These teams met twice in the Nations League in 2020 with Belgium winning both matches, 2-0 and then 4-2.
The Betting
Denmark are trading at just over 3/1 to win the game with the draw at 2.15/1 and Belgium can be backed at just over even money
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 23/20 and it's 9/10 for both teams to score.
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict:
I imagine this will be an emotional occasion after the awful events surrounding Christian Eriksen's collapse but Belgium look ultra professional to me. That said, even a draw wouldn't be a major problem for Belgium and that would also keep Denmark in the mix to qualify and I can see the Danes getting on the score sheet at some stage.
I'll look outside of the match result for a betting interest and go with for both sides to find the net.
Bets: Both teams to score? (yes) at 9/10
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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