Poland v Greece: Lewandowski can make difference for hosts

Joint-host nation Poland kick off Euro 2012 on Friday, and the side with home advantage look good to see off Greece at 19/20.

The travelling Greeks, who won the European championship in 2004, are 10/3 for victory, but completed their tournament preparation in less-than-ideal fashion, drawing with Slovenia and scraping past minnows Armenia 1-0.

It is 21/10 about the draw meanwhile, which could tempt some punters in light of this outcome occurring in a third of the six encounters between these nations.

Also, when studying trends from past meetings of the teams, it is worth noting that Greece have scored only one goal in those six matches, making the 6/5 odds about a Poland clean sheet appeal.

Poland have won half of the games without conceding, and thus look far too big at 9/4 to win a game in which their backline isn’t breached on Friday.

The home side have kept clean sheets in their last four matches prior to the tournament, and have won three of those games to nil, lending weight to the notion that the aforementioned bets are well worth considering.

Also, bearing in mind that the Poles look particularly solid at the back, they could be well worth investment as 2/1 hopes to win a match involving two or less goals.

Alternatively, a 2-0 Poland win can be backed at 7/1, and with that scoreline the result the last time the sides met on Polish soil, a repeat of it could prove popular with punters.

Despite heading into the game with a sturdy defence meanwhile, attack may be the area in which the Polish are most obviously superior to their opponents.

Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski scored more than 30 goals in all competitions last term, and it is 7/4 that he scores in a Poland win in the tournament opener.

Lewandowski can also be backed at a bigger 9/2 to open the scoring, and that price certainly deserves attention.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.