The bottom two teams in Group D get ready to square off in second round EURO action, Russia vs Greece while the top two teams Spain vs Sweden battle for top honors. Spain spanked Russia 4-1 while Sweden defeated the reigning EURO Champs Greece 2-0. The loser of the Russia vs Greece match will be heading home without a EURO Cup. Oddsmakers at BetUS.com have Russia as +110 favs over Greece +230 with a draw listed at +235. Get your Russia vs Greece: EURO 2008 Bet in now at BetUS.com
Russia got beat 1-4 by Spain, but they did manage a goal from striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. Bad news, he is a doubtful starter with an adductor muscle strain. Not to worry though, Coach Guus Hiddink has Dmitri Sychev and Roman Adamov to take his place. The Russians have a very young team and once they get going it is very difficult to stop them. They might switch up their defense after it was severely exposed by Spains offense. Aleksei Berezutskiy and Vasily Berezutskiy, as well as their CSKA Moscow team-mate Sergey Ignashevich are all ready to grab their chance at defense. As for the Captain and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev he will probably keep his day job. Russia’s three midfielders in the Spain game are all expected to start. The Russians have lost three of their five last competitive matches and they would not be here if not for that sensational 3-2 Croatia victory over England at Wembley. But they are here and they will fancy their chances, even if it takes Hiddink reshuffling his defense.
Greece can still rebound from their disappointing opening match against Sweden. They came under intense criticism from the media, and fans, for a defensive-minded style of play. "It's unfair on us, who have brought the team to such great heights and to focus only on negatives is rubbish. Coach Otto Rehhagel abandoned the usual 4-3-3 line-up in favor of a super-defensive 5-3-2 formation, with one of the forwards, Angelos Haristeas, virtually spending his time on the field everywhere but in attack. They’ll need to return to the style of play that won them the EURO 2004 Cup and produce some offense. “We promise you that we will be a different team. We can’t tell you if we will win or lose, but we won’t be the same team as against Sweden,” captain Angelos Basinas said.
Head to Head: 8 matches played
- Russia leads 4-1
- 3 matches ended in a draw
- Russia scored 12 goals
- Greece scored 7 goals
Group D: Russia vs Greece
When: Sat, June 14, 2008 12:00 PM ET
Line: BetUS.com
Pick:
Point-Spreads.com Russia vs Greece: EURO 2008 Bet
The Bottom Line: Russia showed signs of offense against Spain while the Greek were all defense with no real chance at scoring. It should be an easier match for Russia without an offensive team always on their backs. Get your Russia vs Greece: EURO 2008 Bet in now at BetUS.com and receive a 50% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit!
