The second round of Group B EURO action begins with Germany vs Croatia and Austria vs Poland. Poland lost 0-2 to Germany while Austria lost 0-1 to the Czech Republic in their opening matches. A loss, or draw, for either team will end their chances at a EURO Cup. BetUS.com has Poland as +125 moneyline favs over Austria +200 with a draw listed at +230. Get your Austria vs Poland: Bet on EURO 2008 Prediction in now at BetUS.com
Austria went down fighting in a 0-1 loss to Croatia, but things weren’t all that bad. They lacked skills in the first half but came out firing in the second with a dominating performance in the final 20 minutes. Looking back at his sides spirited display, Coach Josef Hickersberger added: “In the second half we played very well. We gave a performance against an opponent like Croatia which months ago, weeks ago even, I would not have expected from my team.” Before their match against Croatia they openly talked about Croatia’s weaknesses, Austria captain Andreas Ivanschitz considered Croatia's central defence as "vulnerable," adding that Austria's "fleet-footed strikers … can hurt them." This time they are keeping their mouths shut. Coach will opt for a more offensive showing against Poland, "We are at our best when we play offensively," Ivanschitz said. "But we have to take care of the right balance. We must avoid at any cost that Poland takes the lead. No team that dropped behind has won so far at the tournament." It’s likely he’ll change to a 3-5-2 lineup instead of a 4-4-2 lineup. Also expect to see midfielder Umit Korkmaz and striker Roman Kienast in the starting lineup.
Poland went down in flames 0-2 against the heavily favored German side. Poland need to overcome the loss of Captain Maciej Zurawski, whose stay in the group stage ended at halftime on Sunday after suffering a thigh injury. Taking his place as Captian is skipper Jacek BÄ…k who has 96 international caps for his country. Also good news is Roland Linz and defender Emanuel Pogatetz are both fit to play after minor injuries. Forward Ebi Smolarek, who scored nine times in qualifying and had a goal narrowly disallowed for offside against Germany, should again provide the Poles' main threat down the middle. Smolarek, who knows his side are already running short of options, told reporters: “We have to play Austria next and we must win that game if we are to have any chance; and then we also have to beat Croatia and that won't be easy.” They stated communication as the reason for their loss to Germany, which caused them some serious errors. "We know that we cannot make the same mistakes against Austria as that would mean this is our last game or, at least, our last meaningful game, if we lose. So we need to speak and communicate more, our mistakes came from a lack of communication and we can't allow them to happen again against Austria." Bet on EURO 2008.
Head to Head: 7 matches played
- Poland leads 4-3
- Poland scored 17 goals
- Austria scored 16 goals
Group B: Austria vs Poland
When: Thurs, June 12, 2008 3:00 PM ET
Line: BetUS.com
Pick: Poland +125
Point-Spreads.com Austria vs Poland: Bet on EURO 2008 now at SBGglobal.com
Point-Spread.com expert capper Scott Burgess is on a 7W-2L winning streak in EURO 2008 Betting.
The Bottom Line: Austria might be able to pull out a win based on the fact they are on home turff, but if your a gabling man you have to go with the stroger Polish side. Get your Austria vs Poland: Bet on EURO 2008 Prediction in now at BetUS.com and receive a 50% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit!
