EURO 2012 Qualifiers – Friday, 3rd September

Key EURO 2010 Qualifiers:

Armenia V Republic of Ireland – 16:00 GMT (Sky Sports)
Montenegro V Wales – 18:30
Lithuania V Scotland – 19:15 (BBC Scotland)
Slovenia V Northern Ireland – 19:45 (Sky Sports)
England V Bulgaria – 20:00 (ITV1)

Estonia V Italy – 19:30
Belgium V Germany – 19:15
France V Belarus – 20:00 (ESPN)

All kick-off times gathered from Oddschecker.com. We apologise if any of the information provided above is not correct.

The Republic of Ireland will kick-off their EURO campaign in unfavoured terrain, when the Irish make the trip to Armenia in the day’s earliest encounter. However, ROI manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, will be without three influential figures for his sides Group B opener, as Fulham’s Damien Duff, Blackburn’s Keith Andrews and Preston’s Keith Treacy all dropped out of Trapattoni’s squad with injuries. Fortunately, Ireland take on a nation ranked just 96th in the world but the away factor combined with important absentee could hurt Ireland’s chances of obtaining a perfect start in a tricky Group B containing Russia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Andorra and Armenia.

To BEAT Armenia: 1.70 StanJames
Recommended Bet: Robbie Keane First Goalscorer – 5.00 PaddyPower

Wales begin their EURO adventure with a difficult trip to Montenegro, where the Welsh will have to defy the odds if they’re to leave Podgorica, Montenegro, with something to show for their efforts. The task, though, has been made a great deal more difficult for John Toshack’s men with news of four drop-outs. Those no longer available for selection include defenders Danny Gabbidon and Darcy Blake of West Ham and Plymouth Argyle respectively, while midfield duo Brian Stock and Andrew Crofts have also dropped out, all with injury concerns.

We cannot underline the importance of Wales getting off to a flyer in a Group G which may well be too hot to handle for John Toshack’s team, with England overwhelming favourites to clinch the only available automatic qualifying position as the team which finishes second in the group, one which contains just five competing nations, will need to hope they’re one of eight best runners-up in order to make the play-off’s. Switzerland and Bulgaria make up the rest of Group G.

To BEAT Montenegro: 4.00 SportingBet
Recommended Bet: Montenegro Half-Time/Full-Time – 3.25 bWin

The Scots are another of the home nation to be involved in a five-team group meaning they’ll need to top Group I containing reigning European and World champions Spain if they’re to be assured of a place in Poland-Ukraine. Craig Levein’s men begin with a trip to Lithuania in a game they must win if they’re to remain competitive for the play-off’s, with top spot just about impossible with Spain in their group. However, Scotland are on a dreadful run outside of Scotland and will be seeking their first win away from their homeland in nearly two years, when goals from Kirk Broadfoot and James McFadden secured a 2-1 win in Iceland.

Scotland‘s opponents in Group I are Spain, Czech Republic, who they beat in a recent friendly at Hampden Park, Lithuania and minnows Liechtenstein.

To BEAT Lithuania: 2.80 Ladbrokes
Recommended Bet: Scotland to Score EXACTLY 2 Goals – 4.50 SkyBet

Northern Ireland have been the bridesmaid in recent campaigns, narrowly missing out on both the 2008 EURO’s and 2010 FIFA World Cup after a couple of valiant qualifying displays only to miss the cut by a couple of points on both occasions. Nigel Worthington will need to inspire his country to yet more phenomenal displays if they are to bypass a highly competitive Group C which contains former EURO winners Italy, World Cup duo Serbia & Slovenia, while Estonia and the Faroe Islands make up the group.

They begin with a daunting trip to Slovenia, whom they beat in Belfast back in April last year during World Cup qualifying but were beaten 2-0 in Slovenia. Nigel Worthington should feel extremely proud of his players if they return from their first outing of the campaign unscathed and unbeaten.

To BEAT Slovenia: 5.50 BetFred
Recommended Bet: Slovenia to WIN to NIL – 2.50 BlueSquare

After a miserable World Cup campaign, England kick-off their EURO 2012 journey seeking vast improvement and far better results. The bookmakers have the English as strong favourites to top Group G, and an under-fire Fabio Capello will demand nothing less than a win as his side take on Bulgaria first of all. The Bulgarians performed poorly during World Cup qualification and aren’t expected to stand in the way of the Three Lions recording their first win of the campaign.

Despite the disappointment of South Africa, the English are expected to fill Wembley to its capacity on Friday, though fans will not be seeing glimpses of John Terry, Frank Lampard nor Rio Ferdinand as all three miss out through injury. It means Steven Gerrard will captain England against Bulgaria for the first time since he captained England in the 4-1 loss to Germany in South Africa.

To BEAT Bulgaria: 1.33 PaddyPower
Recommended Bet: Steven Gerrard Anytime Scorer – 2.75 SkyBet