This weekend sees the European Championships 2016 kick off, with three matches to be contested on the opening Saturday. England face off against Russia in the evening kick off, with Wales playing against Slovakia in the other Group B encounter and the early kick off sees newcomers Albania play Switzerland, in the battle of the Xhaka's.
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England vs Russia Odds – Saturday 11th June 2016 – 20:00 - ITV
England kick off their campaign in Euro 2016 when they face off against Russia at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, in a match that both sides will be desperate to win.
Roy Hodgson's men come into this match in excellent form and will be looking to maintain their winning streak by opening this tournament with a win. They were excellent in qualification winning every game in Group E with a maximum of 30 points from their 10 fixtures, they are the only side in the tournament with this exceptional record.
They face a Russia side who inflicted a very costly 2-1 defeat against them in the Euro 2008 qualification, this ultimately cost England their place at the tournament and Steve McClaren his job.
England remain one of the tournament dark horses but they will have to produce a far greater performance than they did at the World Cup where they failed to win a group game. This will be Roy Hodgson's last chance, if he fails to progress out of the group his tenure as England coach will be over.
They find themselves in a group with Russia, Wales and Slovakia and this is by no means an easy group but a win in their first match will make life a lot easier for them going into the remainder of the group stage and beyond.
England come into this match in excellent form having won their last three matches against Portugal, Australia and Turkey but none of the England players or staff could say that they were resounding wins. They were ugly and hard fought but winning that way is a good habit and you can't always play well so winning under those circumstances will hold the team in good stead.
England have a youthful side and they will be hoping that the Leicester and Tottenham contingent will be able to continue their excellent club form on the International stage and help England progress through to the latter stages.
England remain the favourites at 10/11 with Harry Kane the favourite to score first for England at 4/1.
Russia come into this match looking to pull one over on the England side yet again, having beaten them in 2008 to qualify above them for Euro 2008.
The Russians when interviewed have accepted this is a massive match but are reportedly delighted at drawing England as a pose to the likes of France, Spain and Germany and these comments may well be the kind of motivation that Roy Hodgson will look to utilise with his players.
Russia come into this match in mixed form, they have not won any of their last three matches, although they were facing stern opposition in Serbia, Czech Republic and the hosts France but this will be a slight concern to the Russians.
They finished second in their Group G qualification campaign, with an 8 point gap between themselves and the winners Austria but they had a strong group with the likes of Austria, Sweden, Montenegro, Lichtenstein and Moldova in their group. Given that Russia, Austria and Sweden are all taking part in the Euro's it proves the group was reasonably difficult.
Russia have only lost two matches during qualifying to go with their six wins and two draws and this will give them confidence that they can go on to win this match, despite the bookies labelling them as underdogs.
Russia are the underdogs at 100/30 with Artem Dzyuba the favourite to score first at 6/1.
Wales vs Slovakia Odds – Saturday 11th June 2016 – 17:00 - BBC One
Wales face off against Slovakia in the third match of this Euro 2016 tournament, with Wales making their European Championships debut against a Slovakian side that are also making their debut in the tournament as an independent nation.
Wales come into this match in mixed form they have lost their last two friendlies coming into this tournament, which is less than ideal preparation with Sweden and Ukraine registering home wins against the Welsh.
They ended the qualification period in Group B as runners up to Belgium, they registered just 21 points which was a very impressive total considering the quality of opponents in the group and when you consider the players that Belgium have at their disposal, to finish two points behind them is a very solid effort.
They registered six wins, three draws and one defeats during qualification which is an exceptionally good record and they will compete in the Euro's for the first time in their history. The last major tournament they competed in was the 1958 World Cup and were they to make it to the latter rounds it would be an incredible story.
They have some exceptional players in Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey but the quality and togetherness of this Wales squad will be what stands them in good stead, this despite a poor recent record of four defeats in their last six matches.
They will need to hit the ground running in a group that contains themselves, England, Slovakia and Russia and a second win against Slovakia would be an incredible way to start their debut tournament.
Wales are the joint favourites for this match and are at 9/5 on to win with Gareth Bale the favourite to score first at 4/1.
Slovakia come into this match looking to produce their 2nd win in three matches against Wales and they will also want to ensure a win from their first fixture, in what is their debut tournament as an independent nation.
Slovakia come into this match in excellent form and will be looking to build on their recent 3-1 win against world champions Germany. They will be looking to use their excellent and unbeaten record in their last six matches as motivation for an opening win here.
They finished second in their qualification group behind two time holders Spain and during that period they suffered two defeats, with Belarus and Spain inflicting those defeats. They did manage to beat the Spanish at home prior to that defeat and their excellent recent and qualifying period mean they won't be pushovers.
In their qualification group they had Spain, Belarus, Ukraine, Luxembourg and Macedonia and considering that three of the teams in their group made it through to the finals this again is a great example of how well they did to qualify for their maiden tournament appearance.
They did win their other seven matches and on the basis of those results had an excellent qualification campaign and now the hard work begins in a group that contains themselves, England, Wales and Russia with progression into the latter stages a wonderful achievement for Slovakia.
They are the joint favourites in this tie and to secure the win they are 9/5 with Adam Nemec and Michal Duris at 13/2.
Albania vs Switzerland Odds – Saturday 11th June 2016 – 14:00 - BBC One
Albania face off against Switzerland in the second match of this Euro 2016 tournament, with Albania making their debut in the European Championships and they will be looking to win their first match against Switzerland at the seventh attempt.
Albania come into this match in good form this despite losing their last game against Ukraine 3-1 and they will be looking to maintain that form ahead of this huge opening fixture against Switzerland.
They ended the qualification period in Group I as runners up to Portugal, they registered just 14 points which was by far the lowest total of any second placed side and was lower than all of the third placed finishers in every group as well, albeit they did play two matches less than everyone else.
They registered four wins, two draws and two defeats during qualification which is a pretty good record and they will compete in the Euro's for the first time in their history and will need to make history if they are to beat Switzerland, a team that they have failed to beat in 6 matches. They have been beaten 5 times and drawn once.
The match does have an interesting sub plot with both Xhaka brothers playing on opposite sides, with the Switzerland midfielder Granit recently securing a high profile move to Arsenal.
They will need to hit the ground running in a group that contains themselves, France, Switzerland and Romania and a first ever win against the Swiss would be an incredible way to start their debut tournament.
Albania remain underdogs at 4/1 with Sokol Cikalleshi and Bekim Balaj at 9/2 to score first.
Switzerland come into this match looking to produce their 6th win in seven matches against Albania and they will also want to ensure a win from their first fixture.
Switzerland come into this match in poor form and will be looking to build on their recent 2-1 win against Moldova. They will be looking to use their excellent record against the Albanian's as motivation for another win here.
They finished second in their qualification group behind winners England and during that period they suffered three defeats, two against the three lions and the other against Slovenia.
They did however win their other seven matches and on the basis of those results had an excellent qualification campaign and now the hard work begins in a group that contains themselves, Albania, France and Romania with progression into the latter stages a priority for the Swiss.
In their Group they had England, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and San Marino and they will be very happy with their record against nearly all of these sides bard England and Slovenia but this tournament will be another level entirely and the likes of Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri will be required to navigate the Swiss to the wins needed.
Switzerland remain favourites and are at 5/6 with Haris Seferovic to score first at 4/1.
Today's Selections
Tip 1 – England to win 1-0 @ 9/2 and Harry Kane to score first @ 4/1
Tip 2 – Wales to win 2-1 @ 10/1 and Gareth Bale to score first @ 4/1
Tip 3 - 2-2 @ 22/1 with Cikalleshi at 17/2 to score first.
All Tips Courtesy Of Sky Bet.