Euro 2016 – France X Ireland – Bet Tips

France vs Republic of Ireland – Prediction

France Win – (2-1) – Much of the talk heading into this clash between France and Republic of Ireland has been about their 2010 World Cup play-off game where a Thierry Henry handball assist helped the Blues beat Ireland. For Ireland this is an opportunity for revenge and will be full of confidence after defeating Italy in their previous game. As for France this is the perfect opportunity to kick into high gear heading into the deep end of the tournament.

Fixture Overview:

Match 40

France vs Republic of Ireland

Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon

3 P.M CET, 26-06-2016

Betting Tips – France vs Republic of Ireland

• France to Win – 1.48 (Marathon Bet)

Despite their mediocre performance till now France do have so much quality in their side that it will be too much for their Irish opponents.

• Over 2.5 Goals – 2.70 (Marathon Bet)

The knockouts games till now seem to carry on from the group stages for being cagey affairs. It’s bound of change at some point and with the difference in quality between the two sides it should be a high scoring affair.

• Both teams to Score – 3.00 (WilliamHill)

This isn’t a bet i would approve but the odds on offer are pretty decent and i can see the Irish causing the French some trouble so might wanna keep an eye on this.[sc name=”sportbooks” ]

Route to Knockouts

• Hosts France pretty much got the results that was expected of them in the group stages. The Blues won their opening two games against Romania & Albania 2-1 and 2-0 respectively but were held to 0-0 draw by the Swiss in their final game. They’ve entered the knockouts as the group champions and are one of the few undefeated teams still in the tournament. (2W, 1D, 7 Points)
• Republic of Ireland qualified for the knockouts as the 2nd of the 4 top 3rd placed teams. They drew their opening game against Sweden 1-1 but took a hammering in their 2nd game against Belgium 3-0. It was a 85th minute goal from Robbie Brady that helped them beat Italy 1-0 in the final game and thereby qualify for the round of 16’s. (1W, 1D, 1L , 4 Points)

Eurocupbetting Group Stage Bets

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group E

France

It’s been nearly a week since France played their last group against Switzerland. They qualified for the knockouts as the group champions with 2 wins & a draw but their performances have been far from ideal. It took some last minute heroics against Romania & Albania to get them the 3 points but can’t depend on last minute goals from here on.

France are yet to concede a goal from open play in this tournament with the goal conceded being a penalty against Romania. However the group stage is over now and from now on it’s about who will be the better team on the day. The worrying part for French coach Didier Deschamps is the fact he still doesn’t know his best team.

The French forward which comprises of some of the biggest names in Europe including Oliver Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Gignac & Anthony Martial have all struggled in front of goal. Both Giroud & Griezmann have a goal a piece to their name but it has been Dimitri Payet who has been their star man so far with 2 goals.

Paul Pogba who is one of football’s biggest names right now seemed to finally get going against the Swiss and will hoping continue that form against the Irish. France haven’t suffered a defeat against Ireland in 35 years since their 3-2 world cup qualifier defeat in 1981.

France haven’t won a game in the knockout stages of the Euro’s since their victory against Italy in finals of the 2000 European championship. Three of France’s four goals in this tournament have come on or after the 89th minute.

Although there were some minor injury scares to Giroud and Adil Rami in training the duo should be available against Ireland. Other than that France have a fully fit squad to choose from.

Overall Bet Tips

• Top Scorer

1. Dimitri Payet – 2.88 (Paddypower)
2. Antoine Griezmann – 3.50 (Bet 365)
3. Oliver Giroud – 3.50 (Paddypower)

Payet had scored two goals in his two starts and i’m still sticking by him to be their top goalscorer. The odds on offer for Antoine Griezmann & Oliver Giroud both of whom have scored one a piece are good though so i wouldn’t one for looking the other way.

• Overall Goals Scored/Conceded

1. Under 8.5 goals Scored – 1.73 (Skybet) – Currently just four
2. Between 5 -8 goals Scored – 2.10 (Skybet)
3. Over 3.5 goals conceded – 2.50(Skybet) – Currently just one

• Overall Finish/Stage of Elimination

In my group stage predictions i expected France to make it atleast to the semis but they find themselves on the wrong side of the draw and are likely to face England in the quarters. I wouldn’t back either team at this point and i won’t be putting my money on either of them.

1. Round of 16’s – 5.70 (888 Sport)
2. Quarter – 3.60 (Ladbrokes)
3. Semi’s – 3.50 (Ladbrokes)
4. Runner-up – 9.00 (Betfair)
5. Winner – 5.40 (888 Sport)

Other Knockout Predictions

Switzerland vs Poland

Wales vs Northern Ireland

Croatia vs Portugal

Germany vs Slovakia

Hungry vs Belgium

Italy vs Spain

England vs Iceland

Republic of Ireland

The scenes after their victory against Italy will be remembered for a long time to come. It may go down perhaps as one of their greatest victories in history. However it was only a group game and the Italians had rested most of their key players heading into the clash.

No one can belittle their performance against Italy and if they can play with the same passion & heart against France it will certainly be a great spectacle. This is the first time that they’ve made into the knockouts of the Euro after failing in their previous two attempts in 1988 & 2012.

The Irish have failed to beat France in any of their previous 5 attempts losing twice and drawing thrice. Both of Ireland’s two victories in the Euro’s have been by a 1-0 scoreline with the first of those coming against England in 1988.

While there hasn’t been any stand out player for the team Jeff Hendrick deserves a mention for being the brightest player among the Irish midfield and will have plenty of suitors from the Premier League after the tournament.

Ireland may miss the service of defender Stephen Ward who had picked up an ankle injury in their game against Italy. The good news however is that forward Jonathan Walters who had missed their last two group games with an Achilles injury might be available against France.

Overall Bet Tips

• Top Scorer

1. Wes Hoolahan – 2.50 (Paddypower)
2. Robbie Brady – 2.60 (Coral)
3. Shane Long – 7.00 (Skybet)

The Norwich City duo of Wes Hoolahan & Robbie Brady have both scored a goal of piece for the Irish till now. Although i won’t be surprised if they score against France i would be surprised if any of the others manage to overtake them.

• Overall Goals Scored/Conceded

1. Under 6.5 Goals conceded – 2.20 (Skybet)
2. 3-4 Goals Scored – 3.00 (Skybet)
3. Over 2.5 Goals scored – 2.50 (Skybet)

• Overall Finish/Stage of Elimination

The End!

1. Round of 16’s – 1.20 (Betfair)
2. Quarter – 7.00 (888 Sport)
3. Semi’s – 17.00 (Betfair)
4. Runner-up – 81.00 (Sportingbet)
5. Winner – 151.00 (Sportingbet)

Past Meeting

The last these two teams met was in the play-off round of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers when the infamous Thierry Henry handball assist helped France secure a 1-1 Draw against the Irish and there by move onto the tournament finals without having to face the test of a penalty shoot out as they had won the 1st leg 1-0.

Final Verdict

I don’t see France winning this tournament atleast by the way they’ve played so far. Yes there has been no stand out team till now but their missing firing strikers is cause for concern and their next game against England(should win against Iceland) if they are to beat Ireland could see them exiting from the tournament.