Euro Betting – Poles Face Swiss in Round of 16

Poland (+170) vs Switzerland (+210), Draw (+200)

After a tremendously surprising Group Stage, the Euro’s knockout phase will commence this Saturday with the Round of 16. Two second-place finishers, Poland (2-0-1) and Switzerland (1-0-2), will clash at the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard in Saint-Étienne with a place in the quarterfinals on the line (9:00 AM Eastern).

Both teams advanced on the strength of their defense. Switzerland allowed just one goal in the group stage, coming on a penalty kick in a draw against Romania (1-1). They posted clean sheets against Albania (1-0) and host France (0-0) and finished as runners-up (to France) in Group A.

Poland’s defense has been even better. The team has yet to allow a goal in the tournament, beating Ukraine (1-0) and Northern Ireland (1-0) while drawing against the world champs from Germany (0-0).

Poland were certainly hoping for a more dynamic performance on the offensive side of the ball. Striker Robert Lewandowski hasn’t played to his usual standards, failing to score in the three round-robin games. Opponents have been marking him very closely, knowing full-well he’s the most dangerous man on the pitch for Poland. But if he doesn’t find a way to showcase his skills in the box, Poland won’t be going far.

Neither of these countries has been particularly successful in on the world stage lately, either at the Euro or the World Cup. But Poland have the edge in terms of head-to-head history: in ten matches, all-time, Poland have four wins and just one loss to go along with five draws.

Saturday’s game will be as close as can be. Don’t expect many scoring chances for either team. However, Poland have the slight edge in talent and the best player in the game in Lewandowski. That should make the difference.

Pick: Poland (+170).

(Photo Credit: Roger Gorączniak (Polska – Węgry) CC BY 3.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)