Euro 2020: Betting preview and selections for Monday including Scotland v Czech Republic

Memories were created after their play-off penalty shootout win against Serbia in which David Marshall captured one of the iconic Scottish football moments by saving Aleksandar Mitrovic’s penalty and putting his nation into Euro 2020.

Managed by Steve Clarke, the Scots come into the tournament on the back of five games unbeaten which will stand them in good stead for their opener with the Czech Republic.

This is a game they need to win if they want less pressure going into the tougher games with England and Croatia. There are only four places between Scotland and the Czechs in the FIFA World Rankings so it will be a tighter game than tournament experience suggests. The Scots are 19/10 so are slight underdogs compared with the Czech Republic’s 13/8 valuation.

Che Adams has performed well for his country notching up two goals in four caps including the only goal in his side’s 1-0 over Luxembourg. The Southampton striker is 21/10 to score anytime. Adams’ partner for the match will be Lyndon Dykes who isn’t as prolific but will be looking to Andrew Robertson for high-quality balls into the box. The QPR target man is 13/5 to get a goal in the 90 minutes and will be looking to be the first player since Craig Burley to score for the Scots at an international tournament.

The Czechs are always associated with the glorious Euros team of 1996 and they do have players that can evoke the flair and quality of Patrik Berger and Karel Poborsky.

Adam Hlozek is just 18 but his attacking numbers have acquired him suitors from around the continent and is 11/4 to score throughout but will likely start from the bench.

Patrik Schick is a safer bet at reduced odds of 2/1 but the focus will be on Tomas Soucek who scored an impressive 10 goals in the Premier League this season. The West Ham midfielder is a danger from set pieces and crosses looks good at 11/4.

Poland vs Slovakia will be the second game on Monday with the Poles heavy favourites at 4/5 with Slovakia at 4/1. However recent form suggests there’s an opportunity for the Slovakians to grab a point from this game with odds at 23/10.

Poland manager Paulo Sousa has only been in charge for five games, winning one against lowly Andorra. Slovakia broke Northern Irish hearts by scoring in extra time back in November to reach this competition.

This tie features the best striker in world football in Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich star had a record-breaking season winning the European Golden Shoe as well as getting the highest number of goals ever scored in a Bundesliga season. His 48 goals in 40 games will go down as one of the best individual efforts ever at club level so it’s no surprise he’s at 5/6 to score anytime. He’ll also be determined to salvage his poor goal ratio at international tournaments, which currently stands at 2 in 11 games.

Spain finish the day off against Sweden in Seville. Spain go in at 4/9 with Sweden 13/2 which is no surprise given the heritage Spain have at the Euros after their success in 2008 and 2012. La Roja’s build-up to the tournament was been ruined by captain Sergio Busquests testing positive for Covid-19 and he is training at his home. Sergio Ramos also failed to make the squad due to injury and his presence will be missed considering he’s featured in every international competition for his country since 2006.

Sweden are no longer reliant on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and have the exciting Alexander Isak who has had an excellent season for Real Sociedad and is 4/1 to score at any point. Alvaro Morata will lead the line for Spain despite question marks over his clinical finishing and is at 6/5 in the same market. 18-year-old Pedri will be one of the stars of the tournament and has been impressive in his four caps for Spain. He’s 9/4 to strike over the course of the game and he could really showcase why he could potentially live up to the billing of this generation’s Andreas Iniesta.

Tips and analysis via bettingexpert.com