Frank Lorenzo
Germany (-187) vs Poland (+600), Draw (+333)
The world champions started Euro 2016 with a win, but they didn’t look entirely great on the field. Germany (1-0-0, 3 pts) will now take on Poland (1-0-0, 3 pts) in the second fixture of Group C tomorrow at Stade de France in Paris (3:00 PM Eastern, Thursday, June 16).
Germany beat Ukraine in the opening fixture, 2-0. However, their usually picture-perfect passing game looked off and the team seemed desperate, instead of measured, on the attack.
Toni Kroos, the brains of the German team, played well, but Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller were nonexistent in the offense. Muller, the team’s top scorer, looked flat, while midfielder Ozil didn’t create any chances.
Subpar performance aside, the Germans can clinch a spot in the next round with a win over Poland. But they’ll need a better showing to get by the Poles.
Poland beat Northern Ireland in their first fixture (1-0) and dominated possession, but also had problems creating chances. Star striker Robert Lewandowski couldn’t find any room against Northern Ireland’s aggressive and physical defense. Luckily for Poland, Arkadiusz Milik was able to score from just inside the box early in the second half.
These two teams met twice during the Euro 2016 qualifiers with each winning at home. However, the Germans are 3-2-1 in the last six head-to-head and it’s hard to keep Germany quiet for two straight games. Take the Germans to win.
Pick: Germany (-187).
(Photo Credit: Steindy, CC BY-SA 3.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
