The NHL and NBA playoffs may be winding down, but don’t think for a second that the sports betting world is taking a break. The UEFA Euro 2024 officially kicked off on Friday, which means we get non-stop soccer action in the coming weeks. The best clubs in Europe will take their shot in Germany, hoping to make a run and eventually hoist the trophy. We get three games on Saturday as the group stage gets underway, and they all feature some dangerous teams, including Spain and Italy. If you haven’t bet on soccer before, make sure to check out our guide to soccer betting that helps break down key terms and strategies. With three games on the schedule, here’s a quick breakdown of my top UEFA Euro 2024 picks and predictions.
UEFA Euro 2024 Picks & Predictions for Saturday, June 15
UEFA Euro 2024 Picks & Predictions for Saturday, June 15
Hungary-Switzerland UEFA Euro 2024 Pick & Prediction
We get underway with the other two teams in Group A who will be looking to stay in contact with Germany after they dismantled Scotland on Friday. Hungary won their qualifying group, which I’d characterize as relatively weak, as it featured Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania and Bulgaria. The level of competition immediately increases here with Switzerland, who is a balanced and disciplined team, especially at the back. Both of these teams are looking to avoid dropping a game to each other because Germany looms. Switzerland was also in a very weak qualifying group, finishing second to Romania, so both teams have a lot of questions, and this is going to be a telling game.
Looking to the betting market, we see a three-way line featuring Switzerland at +115. Draw and Hungary both hover around +250. Although I agree that Switzerland is the second-best team in this group, I have minimal interest in backing a side here. My focus would be more on the total number of goals in the game, which is juiced, but is still a number I can get behind. The under 2.5 has climbed to -165 at various books, and I think it could close even higher than that. I expect both teams to be relatively conservative while looking for timely counters as their main scoring chances. With that in mind, the first goal could come late in the game — or not at all — and certainly cause a team to really go into a shell to preserve a lead. I’ll call for a 1-1 type game here and go with the under 2.5 for -110 on DraftKings.
UEFA Euro 2024 Pick for Hungary-Switzerland: Under 2.5 -110 at DraftKings
Spain-Croatia UEFA Euro 2024 Pick & Prediction
A few heavy hitters match up here with Spain taking on Croatia in Group B. There are many who think Spain has the infusion of young talent to lift the trophy, and I actually like them to win Group B outright. Spain breezed through qualifying by winning seven of their eight games and finishing atop their group. They will dominate possession as they normally do, and if they can maximize their scoring chances, they are extremely dangerous.
For Croatia, I’ll be honest — I don’t know what to make of them. This is a team that has been outstanding on the international stage, and while some of their core is aging, they still have a lot of dangerous pieces teams. Creating and finishes scoring chances is my big concern here, and we saw some of that come up in the qualifier stage. Besides hanging seven goals across their matches with Latvia, we saw Croatia fail to eclipse more than a goal multiple times. That spells trouble to me against a Spanish side that has every weapon imaginable and is poised for a deep run.
UEFA Euro 2024 Pick for Spain-Croatia: Spain -110 at DraftKings
Italy-Albania UEFA Euro 2024 Pick & Prediction
The final two teams in Group B are Italy and Albania, and they’ll face off in the last match of the day. They come in with completely different expectations: Italy is looking to find some magic and defend their 2020 crown, while Albania is looking to make history with basically any positive result. They tied Czech Republic atop their qualifying group thanks to elite defense. Albania only conceded four goals in eight matches, which is 100% the formula they will be going for here.
In some ways, Italy is a nice matchup for them, as they don’t mind sitting back and playing rock solid defense themselves. But the talent and overall quality should wear down the Albanians, which is why we see Italy near a -300 favorite in the game. Most if not all people agree Albania is destined for the bottom of the group. Making it out would be a major accomplishment.
To me, this matchup is all about how fast Italy can score, as Albania wants to park the bus and hold on as long as they can. They clearly showed that’s possible, and I think they will frustrate the Italian side for at least a little while. With that in mind, I’ll fire up another under 2.5 goals and hope Albania gets blanked and Italy doesn’t run away with it.
UEFA Euro 2024 Pick for Italy-Albania: Under 2.5 -124 at FanDuel
