Euros big winners, Turkey v Wales, Italy v Switzerland, What Happens Next? and more

Cristiano Ronaldo sits down at his pre-match press conference, but something seems to bother him – What Happens Next?

FOOTBALL

The Big Winners – Monday & Tuesday

Monday
In Group D, the Czech Republic began their EURO campaign in perfect fashion with two goals from Patrick Schick, including an early contender for goal of the tournament, to handily beat Scotland. Three points may already be enough to secure a place in the knockout stages, so the Czechs will be confident ahead of their remaining fixtures with England and Croatia – which certainly look like tougher tests on paper.

In Group E, Slovakia grabbed a crucial and somewhat unexpected victory against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, who were hindered by Wojciech Szczesny’s unfortunate own goal, and then falling to ten men. With Spain and Sweden still to play for both sides, a victory was pivotal to get a foothold in the group, and the Slovakian side will be full of confidence now, while Lewandowski will have to put his Bayern shooting boots on if he wants to avoid a group-stage exit with his nation.

Also in Group E, Sweden will probably be looking at their hard-fought 0-0 draw with Spain as a victory, with a huge defensive effort leading to the Swedes grabbing an important point against their stiffest challenge in the group – at least on paper. For all of Spain’s intricate build-up and attractive football, they will need to find some end product in their next matches, or there will not be much chance of the 2008 and 2012 champions reclaiming the trophy.

Tuesday
In the ‘Group of Death’, Portugal kicked things off in a match-up against group underdogs Hungary in Budapest – in front of a capacity crowd of almost 68,000. Although the Hungarians fought valiantly and preserved their clean sheet until the 84th minute, a heavily deflected strike by Raphael Guerreiro broke the resistance, and this seemed to open the floodgates.

Cristiano Ronaldo – who else – managed to grab a double in the remaining minutes, with a penalty and smart finish after going around the goalkeeper making the Portuguese icon the leading all-time Euro goalscorer, and closer to the all-time international goalscorer record. With Ronaldo scoring the last goal of the match, any punters who had backed the Portugal captain to score first were refunded under our 1st Goalscorer Insurance promotion. Remember, this is active for EVERY match at the Euros!

Later in the evening, world champions France opened their campaign against Germany in a marquee matchup. In what proved to be a tight match with a lack of goals from the attacking talent on the pitch, it was the unfortunate veteran German defender Mats Hummels who put the ball into his own net.

Although Kylian Mbappe impressed throughout and had chances, he did not get on the scoresheet, and a late breakaway goal by Karim Benzema after an assist by Mbappe was ruled out for offside by VAR. With Germany unable to find a goal, they face a must-win match against Hungary, and a tough match-up with the reigning champions Portugal – who by the look of things will not give up their crown without a fight.

Wednesday Previews

Turkey v Wales, 5pm BBC 1
After a respectable point against Switzerland in their opening game, Wales will know that a win against Turkey will put them in a great position to secure a knockout-stage place and will further know the importance of a victory here, with their toughest test in group favourites Italy to come in the final group match.

Turkey, on the other hand, will be under extreme pressure if the result does not go their way. After an underwhelming performance against the Italians, and a problematic goal difference after shipping 3 goals without reply, they will know that a morale-boosting victory against the Welsh would be pivotal for their chances, and that this may be their best chance of grabbing 3 points – considering the Red Dragons are probably the weakest team in the group (on paper).

Spreadex anticipate an evenly contested match, with a Turkey/Wales Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 available, as well as Total Goals at 2.1-2.3 and Total Goal Mins at 107-117. On the fixed odds, Turkey are 13/8 to grab the win, while Wales and the Draw are both at 2/1.

Italy v Switzerland, 8pm ITV 1
After announcing themselves as tournament dark horses with an impressive 3-0 victory against Turkey in matchday one, the Italians will look to follow that up with another win here – which would likely secure first place in the group.

Roberto Mancini’s side are on a fantastic run of form, and will be fully confident of another win here, although the Swiss are no pushovers, and will be going for all 3 points themselves. Four of the last five head-to-head meetings between these sides have ended as draws, so the Italians will look to make home advantage count and get all 3 points.

Spreadex are offering an Italy/Switzerland Goal Supremacy Spread of 0.8-1, as well as a Total Goals spread of 2.25-2.45 and Total Goal Minutes of 116-126. On the fixed odds, Italy are available at 13/20, with Switzerland at 5/1 and the Draw at 14/5.

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HORSE RACING

Royal Ascot

With three more days of racing action still to come from Royal Ascot, it’s not too late to get involved. With our full range of spreads and fixed odds markets, as well as our card markets and matchbets, there are plenty of ways to enhance your excitement and get involved.

From Day 1's action, a lot of money was to be made by punters. Looking at some of our popular Daily Card Markets, Starting Prices settled at a make-up of 131.8. Those who bought at a starting spread of 81 - 85 would have made over 46x their initial stake.

Multi-mules settled with a makeup of 409 from a starting spread of 762-837, meaning that punters who sold would have made a whopping 353x their original wager! On the Stop at a Winner markets, the settlement was at 10 from a starting spread of 30-32, meaning that punters who sold would have made 20x their opening wager.

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*Prices subject to change