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Poland and Greece will contest the first game on Euro 2012 on Friday, with the co-hosts looking to get off to a good start, and the 2004 winners will look for a similar dream tournament.
Poland enter the competition first and will be quietly confident of getting through Group A against Greece, Czech Republic and Russia. Home advantage will play a big part in the eastern European side’s chances, and there will be a full house in Warsaw hoping for the hosts to get three points. Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski will lead the line for the Poles, and in a close game the odd goal could well be the difference. Poland have warmed up for the tournament by beating the likes of Latvia, Andorra and Slovakia, but the lack of competitive fixtures may be a concern. Bwin give the hosts odds of 1.85 to get off with a win.
Greece are a slightly unknown and unpredictable outfit, with a handful of older heads being joined by a raft of young prospects. The Greeks topped a qualifying group consisting of Croatia and Israel, but have not been overly impressive in pre-tournament friendlies. They have drawn with the likes of Slovenia and Belgium in recent friendlies, but did manage a 1-0 win over Armenia last Friday to build a bit of momentum going into this one; Kyriakos Papadopoulos got the winner. Bwin have Greece as outsiders at odds of 4.40 for a win.
This could be a tight and tense opener between two relatively even sides. My Euro 2012 football betting tip is a 2-0 win to Poland however, which Bwin have at 7.25.
[bwin event=2509323]
Tags: Greece, Greece odds, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Poland, Poland odds, Poland vs Greece, Robert Lewandowski
