Euro 2024 - Day 9 Tips: Lukaku and Fernandes to find their feet in Germany
Euro 2024 continues on Saturday as matchday two comes to an end with fixtures in Group E and Group F.
The action begins in Hamburg as Georgia and Czech Republic, both in desperate need of a result after losing their curtain-raisers, face off, before the two favourites in Group F lock horns at the BvB Stadion in Dortmund for Turkey vs Portugal.
Finally, Group E’s second round of fixtures is completed as Belgium look to bounce back from a shock opening defeat when they face Romania in Cologne.
Tip 1 - Georgia vs Czech Republic - Both teams to score @ 5/6
Georgia played a crucial part in one of the games of Euro 2024 so far as they were beaten by Turkey and they could be set to entertain again as they go up against a Czech Republic side also denied a crucial result in their opener.
The European Championship debutants were adventurous going forward as they chased an equaliser, hitting the woodwork twice among a few other glorious chances for the underdogs.
They have now scored in nine of their last 10 games, including in both meetings with Spain in this period. With the Czechs conceding in each of their last five games, the underdogs are expected to get on the scoresheet again.
However, Georgia were left exposed at the back multiple times against Turkey and their opponents on Saturday have scored in each of their last eight games.
Both sides desperately need a win after losing their opener, so back an open game in Hamburg.
Tip 2 - Turkey vs Portugal - Bruno Fernandes to give more assists than Hakan Calhanoglu @ 15/4
Portugal were reliant on a last-gasp winner in their opener against Czech Republic and, while midfield maestro Bruno Fernandes did not make a concrete impact on the scoreline, the Manchester United man was unfortunate not to start Euro 2024 with an assist.
He created two chances and generated 0.46 expected assists, while Turkish playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu could only manage 0.13 expected assists in their 3-1 win over Georgia.
A Selecao are justified favourites for this tie after winning 14 of their last 16 matches and that already tips the balance in Fernandes’ favour, and that is not even counting the huge disparity between their actual goal contributions for their respective clubs and countries.
Fernandes topped the assist charts in Euro 2024 qualifying as he laid on eight goals for his team-mates, chipping in with another five goals to further cement his importance in Roberto Martinez’s side.
He followed that with an excellent end to the season with an underperforming Manchester United, laying on four assists in his final six games of the season before providing yet another assist for Portugal in their final warm-up friendly against Republic of Ireland.
Calhanoglu, in contrast, did not register any assists in Euro 2024 qualifying or in two warm-up friendlies, with his last assist for Inter Milan coming all the way back in December, with that being his third and final of the season.
Tip 3 - Belgium vs Romania - Romelu Lukaku to score @ 19/20
It is telling of Belgium’s dominance that the three highest-rated players in The Red Devils’ Euro 2024 opener against Slovakia were the Slovakia left-back, goalkeeper and centre-back, and despite their shock 1-0 defeat they should feel confident when they come up against Romania on Saturday.
Romelu Lukaku is Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer and twice had the ball in the net against Slovakia, only for VAR to intervene and rule out both attempts.
He had three shots and generated 0.88 expected goals on target, while he also found the net twice in Belgium’s warm-up friendly against Luxembourg.
The former Manchester United forward was the top scorer in Euro 2024 qualifying with 14 goals and he can rediscover his scoring touch against Romania.