Croatia v Spain, France v Switzerland, Weekend Winners, What Happens Next?

Orlando City winger Nani dribbles down the left wing as his side look to grab the lead with 10 minutes to go – What Happens Next?

MONDAY MATCH PREVIEWS

Croatia v Spain, 5pm ITV 1

After a slow start in the group stage for both of these sides, qualification for the round of 16 was only confirmed after the final round of group fixtures. That may not be a bad thing though, as both teams will look to push on and rather peak late in the competition rather than early. For the Croats, they will be looking to repeat the achievements of their last major tournament (in which they reached the World Cup final in 2018), while Spain’s new generation is looking to make its own mark and begin to reclaim the glories of their golden generation between 2008-12.

Croatia came from behind to beat Spain 2-1 in the group stages of EURO 2016 with a goal from Ivan Perisic, but they will be without that particular key man this time around, with the winger testing positive for COVID-19. The focus will surely turn to their talismanic playmaker Luka Modric, who led from the front in Croatia’s crucial victory over Scotland and will be vital against a Spain side who will look to control possession and dominate in midfield.

The Spanish started their competition with two draws and looked to be suffering from a lack of penetration and clinical finishing – for all their neat passing and possession play. It will be absolutely vital for this to not be an issue here, but the 5-0 demolition of Slovakia suggest a growing belief and confidence within Luis Enrique’s squad, and they will believe they can prove their status as favourites over the Croats. With that being said, Croatia beat La Furia Roja 3-2 in the UEFA Nations League in their last H2H, avenging the previous fixture in which they suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat – their worst ever competitive defeat.

What will happen this time around? Spreadex are offering a Spain/Croatia Goal Supremacy spread of 0.85-1.05, along with a Total Goals spread of 2.3-2.5 and a Total Goal Mins spread of 117-127. On the fixed odds, Spain are at 13/20 to get the job done in regular time, and 2/7 to qualify. Croatia are 5/1 to win in 90 minutes and are 13/5 to qualify. The draw is available at 14/5.

France v Switzerland, 8pm ITV 1

World Champions France have so far performed to expectations – more or less – topping the group of death, although perhaps underperforming in draws against surprise packages Hungary, and the now-eliminated reigning champions Portugal. However, it would seem that Les Blues still have gears to find, and their tournament may just start for real from here. For Switzerland, they face an unenviable task against their esteemed neighbours, but will be happy to have got through to the knockout stages after getting through as one of the best 3rd placed sides. Although certainly unfancied, the Swiss will have confidence from the underdog performances of Austria and especially the Czechs this weekend.

Switzerland will also take some confidence from the fact that they have drawn 4 of the last 5 H2Hs with the French, and all of the pressure will surely be on their opponents. They will also hope star man Xherdan Shaqiri gets on the scoresheet – the Swiss have won 12 of the 14 competitive matches in which the Liverpool winger has scored. Will Shaqiri score the first goal tonight? That’s available at 14/1 on the fixed odds.

For France, they will look to Kylian Mbappe to finally find some goalscoring form. The PSG man is the only player of the French front three of himself, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann to not get on the scoresheet, and the knockout stages would be the perfect time for Mbappe to begin making his presence felt – similar to what he accomplished in the 2018 World Cup. Mbappe to Score First is available on the fixed odds at 15/4, and is 15/2 to score 2+.

In terms of the match odds and spreads markets, Spreadex are offering a sizeable France/Switzerland Goal Supremacy spread of 0.8-1, along with Total Goals at 2.2-2.4, and Total Goal Mins at 114-124. On the fixed odds, France are odds-on at 4/6 to win and 3/10 to qualify, while the Swiss are 5/1 to win and 5/2 to qualify, while the Draw is at 14/5.


WEEKEND WINNERS
With Wales crashing out 4-0 to Denmark, Italy squeezing past Austria 2-1 after extra time, the Czech Republic knocking out the 10-man Dutch, and Belgium ending Portugal’s reign with a 1-0 win, we look at some of the best spread bets and make-ups, and just how much you could have won!

Wales v Denmark – Total Goal Minutes (settled at 253)
With four goals flying into the Wales net, it was a bad afternoon for the Dragons. However, with two very late goals, it may have been a great afternoon for those who bought Total Goal Minutes. With a pre-match spread of 96-106, punters who bought at 106 could have made 147 times their initial wager!

Italy v Austria – Total Completed Passes (settled at 897)
With the Italians being one of the most impressive sides in possession so far in the Euros, shrewd punters may have seen an opportunity for profit by buying at an opening spread of 805-835. Had you done so, you would be left with 62 times your initial wager!

Netherlands v Czech Republic – Patrik Schick PGM (settled at 80)
With Czech striker Patrik Schick enjoying the tournament of his life, he got onto the scoresheet once again in his nation’s surprise victory over the Dutch. Those who bought at an initial Schick PGMs spread of 14-17 would be left with a profit of 63 times their initial wager!

Belgium v Portugal – Cross Bookings (settled at 600)
In a toughly contested match-up which descended into moments of chaos and lack of discipline in the second half, the cross-bookings market settled at 600 from a pre-match spread of 390-450. Those who successfully anticipated this could have made huge profit, with buying at 450 leaving you with 150 times your opening wager!


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