Greece vs Czech Republic Live Euro Cup 2012
Greece
and Czech Republic go into the game knowing a victory will put them in a
good position to make the quarter-finals, while defeat could all but
end their European Championship adventure.
Fernando Santos will have been encouraged by his side's second-half display against co-hosts Poland after being in danger of being over-run in the first half. The Greeks may not be blessed with a wealth of attacking options, and Celtic striker Georgios Samaras was exceptionally poor in Warsaw, but the Czechs looked equally suspect defensively in the 4-1 mauling by Russia.Greece will be without the suspended Sokratis Papastathopoulos after his controversial red card in the tournament curtain raiser, while Avraam Papadopoulos is out of the rest of the finals after suffering a knee ligament injury in the 1-1 draw. The Czechs are desperate to recover some pride after a humbling experience against a confident Russian outfit. "We're angry now, even more so after losing by such a scoreline," goalscorer Vaclav Pilar said before their second group game.
Greece player to watch: Dimitris Salpingidis. The PAOK forward was left out of the starting line-up against Poland but came on at half-time for Sotiris Ninis and completely transformed the game for Greece. He scored straight after the restart and was a constant threat, was fouled for the penalty that skipper Giorgos Karagounis missed and had another goal ruled out for a marginal offside decision.
Czech Republic player to watch: Vaclav Pilar. Few from Michal Bilek's side came out of the first match with any credit but this Vfl Wolfsburg forward proved to be a positive. He scored what proved to be a consolation but may be hampered again by the lack of quality up front.
Key Battle: Kyriakos Papadopoulos v Milan Baros Kyriakos Papadopoulos came on after namesake Sokratis went off injured and immediately Greece looked far more solid at the back. The 20-year-old Olympiakos defender, the youngest player to ever play in the Greek league, is destined for a move to one of Europe's bigger leagues. With the Czechs so light up front they are relying on goals from Galatasaray striker Baros - but Kyriakos may have him in his pocket.Trivia: Czech Republic were the lowest scorers in qualifying of all the teams who made the finals.
Stats: Czech Republic are on top in the head to head against Greece with five wins, one draw and one loss in meetings between the two sides, but it was Greece who won the last meeting, in the semi-finals of Euro 2004.
Odds: Greece 3.25, the draw 3.20 and Czech Republic 2.37 with bet365. Salpingidis to score first is a healthy 10.00.
Prediction: It's a tough one to call with both sides having clear deficiencies in their opening matches, and a goalless draw cannot be out of the question.
Fernando Santos will have been encouraged by his side's second-half display against co-hosts Poland after being in danger of being over-run in the first half. The Greeks may not be blessed with a wealth of attacking options, and Celtic striker Georgios Samaras was exceptionally poor in Warsaw, but the Czechs looked equally suspect defensively in the 4-1 mauling by Russia.Greece will be without the suspended Sokratis Papastathopoulos after his controversial red card in the tournament curtain raiser, while Avraam Papadopoulos is out of the rest of the finals after suffering a knee ligament injury in the 1-1 draw. The Czechs are desperate to recover some pride after a humbling experience against a confident Russian outfit. "We're angry now, even more so after losing by such a scoreline," goalscorer Vaclav Pilar said before their second group game.
Greece player to watch: Dimitris Salpingidis. The PAOK forward was left out of the starting line-up against Poland but came on at half-time for Sotiris Ninis and completely transformed the game for Greece. He scored straight after the restart and was a constant threat, was fouled for the penalty that skipper Giorgos Karagounis missed and had another goal ruled out for a marginal offside decision.
Czech Republic player to watch: Vaclav Pilar. Few from Michal Bilek's side came out of the first match with any credit but this Vfl Wolfsburg forward proved to be a positive. He scored what proved to be a consolation but may be hampered again by the lack of quality up front.
Key Battle: Kyriakos Papadopoulos v Milan Baros Kyriakos Papadopoulos came on after namesake Sokratis went off injured and immediately Greece looked far more solid at the back. The 20-year-old Olympiakos defender, the youngest player to ever play in the Greek league, is destined for a move to one of Europe's bigger leagues. With the Czechs so light up front they are relying on goals from Galatasaray striker Baros - but Kyriakos may have him in his pocket.Trivia: Czech Republic were the lowest scorers in qualifying of all the teams who made the finals.
Stats: Czech Republic are on top in the head to head against Greece with five wins, one draw and one loss in meetings between the two sides, but it was Greece who won the last meeting, in the semi-finals of Euro 2004.
Odds: Greece 3.25, the draw 3.20 and Czech Republic 2.37 with bet365. Salpingidis to score first is a healthy 10.00.
Prediction: It's a tough one to call with both sides having clear deficiencies in their opening matches, and a goalless draw cannot be out of the question.
