6 Tips For Thursday’s Euro 2020 Action – 17th June

Wednesday sees Ukraine take on North Macedonia at the National Arena Bucharest in Romania with both teams desperate for a positive result, having both been beaten on matchday one in Group C.

Ukraine come into this game on the back of a dramatic 3-2 loss to the Netherlands in a game that saw Andriy Shevchenko’s side fall two goals behind, following early second-half strikes from Gini Wijnaldum and Wout Weghorst, before an Andriy Yarmolenko strike and a free header from a set-piece by Roman Yaremchuk saw them equalise with just over 10 minutes to go, however, there was a final sting in the tail, which saw PSV full-back Denzel Dumfries header in a cross from the left-hand side from Nathan Ake with just five minutes to go.

Meanwhile, North Macedonia were beaten 3-1 by Austria despite being level with just under 15 minutes to go, having equalised through Goran Pandev just before half-time, having fallen behind to Stefan Lainer’s opener, but, two goals in the final 11 minutes of the match from Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic settled the outcome.

Ukraine to Win & BTTS - 7/2

According to the Betting Hub App in the last five matches there is a 60% chance of both teams scoring in this match, as they both did in their first group stage games of the tournament. Prior to this Ukraine had two matches in their previous four games where both teams scored as they laboured to two 1-1 draws against Bahrain and Kazakhstan, before beating Northern Ireland 1-0 and thumping Cyprus 4-0.

North Macedonia were also involved in the same amount of games that both teams scored in, as they famously beat Germany 2-1 back in late March via goals from Pandev and Elif Elmas, as well as drawing 1-1 with Slovenia earlier this month.

Ukraine to Win and Yaremchuk to Score - 9/4

The player in focus for this tip is Yaremchuk, the 25-year-old Gent striker scored in Ukraine’s opener against Holland as mentioned above, and is actually their most in-form goalscorer at club level this season, finding the back of the net 17 times in 28 games for Gent. The Lviv born striker also has a good record at international level, scoring nine goals in 25 appearances, of which three of these have come in his last four games against the Netherlands, Cyprus and Kazakhstan.

Netherlands to Win & BTTS – 10/3

This match is destined for goals if both sides live up to the excitement that they brought to the tournament in their opening matches, especially when considering the Betting Hub has calculated that there is a 70% chance of over 2.5 goals being scored in this match, as combined, these two sides average 3.4 goals a game.

Frank De Boer’s side have won four of their last matches against Latvia 2-0, Gibraltar 7-0, Georgia 3-0, with a 2-2 draw to Scotland also being played out last June and come into this game as favourites, following the expansive attacking display that we saw against Ukraine, where the former Crystal Palace manager’s side created countless opportunities in the match before Gini Wijnaldum’s second-half opener.

Austria impressed in their last outing which was a huge improvement from their last three matches prior to this game against North Macedonia, as they had previously been beaten 4-0 and 1-0 by Denmark and England, as well as drawing 0-0 against Slovakia.

As we saw against Ukraine, the Netherlands are very shaky at the back and this is backed up by the fact that they have conceded in nine of their last 13 matches in all competitions.

Gini Wijnaldum & Memphis Depay Both to Score – 8/1

In this match, we have tipped both Wijnaldum and Memphis Depay both to score, which may seem bold considering the ex-Liverpool midfielder’s goalscoring record at Anfield, but the PSG man has scored five goals in his last eight international matches, as he is often deployed in a much more advanced role, which was shown by his emphatic left-footed finish against Ukraine.

On the other hand, Depay is more of a regular goalscorer and will be looking to get off the mark in Euro 2020 having impressed in the Oranje’s opening game. The former Lyon man scored 20 goals in 37 league matches this season for the Ligue 1 outfit and has 26 international goals to his name, with seven of these coming in his last eight appearances against the likes of Bosnia, Poland, Gibraltar, Scotland and Georgia.

Denmark versus Belgium is next on this list of tips and the Danes come into this match under huge pressure, having lost 1-0 to Finland on matchday one in Group B thanks to a goal from Bayer Leverkusen’s Joel Pohjanpalo which was his side’s only effort on goal in the whole game, whilst Belgium cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Russia in Saint Petersburg via strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Thomas Meunier.

Belgium to Win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 – 15/8

As a combined total over the last five matches, there is just a 40% chance of there being over 2.5 goals according to the Betting Hub App in this match.

This statistic is backed up by Denmark’s last three results, as prior to their shock 1-0 loss to Finland, they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Germany, whilst Belgium beat Croatia 1-0 in June via a Lukaku strike, as well as drawing 1-1 against the likes of Greece and the Czech Republic in the run-up to the Euros in a friendly match and a World Cup qualifier.

The last time these two sides went head-to-head at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Belgium ran out as 2-0 winners in the Nations League last September with Jason Denayer and Dries Mertens both getting on the scoresheet.

Romelu Lukaku to Score A Brace – 8/1

Inter Milan striker Lukaku is the player to look out for in this match, as the 28-year-old has scored 10 goals in his last nine international matches, including a brace against Russia last time out, as well as a double in a 4-2 win over Denmark in the Nations League last November.

Since making his debut for Belgium in March 2010, Lukaku has scored two goals or more in a game on 19 different occasions, seeing him as the Red Devils all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 94 appearances. The Antwerp born striker is currently the top scorer at Euro 2020 as things stand.