This weekend sees the European Championships 2016 in full flight, with three matches to be contested this Saturday. Belgium face off against Republic of Ireland in the afternoon kick off, with Iceland playing against Hungary in the first Group F encounter and the late kick off sees Portugal play Austria.
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Belgium vs Republic of Ireland – Saturday 18th June 2016 – 14:00 - ITV
Belgium face off against Republic of Ireland at the Stade de Bordeaux in the second round of Group E fixtures, this fixture is huge for Belgium who lost their opening fixture against Italy and a win for Ireland would put them in an excellent position that could ultimately see them progress.
Marc Wilmott's side come into this match bottom in Group E after their opening 2-0 loss against Italy on Monday. They put in an poor performance all round against Italy where they were regularly cut open by the Italians and they were very poor in front of goal with Romelu Lukaku and Divock Origi having a particularly poor match.
Belgium head into this tournament as one of the favourites to win the tournament outright, they have an excellent FIFA ranking and they have quality all over the pitch although the absence of captain Vincent Kompany was very evident in defence.
Due to the strength in depth of their squad they still remain heavy favourites to progress and have players with the quality of Lukaku, Benteke, Hazard, Vermaelen, Vertonghen and Courtois to name a few.
They face a Republic of Ireland side who drew their first match against Sweden and they only drew due to a costly mistake from defender Ciaran Clark, who given his appalling season with Villa remains questionably in the side.
They have ROI and Sweden left in the final two fixtures and they know a win today will allow them to progress to the latter stages of this tournament if they beat Sweden as well, it is knockout football from now on for Belgium.
Belgium remain the favourites at 4/6 with Romelu Lukaku and Christian Benteke at 7/2 the favourite to score first for Belgium.
Republic of Ireland come into this match second in the group having managed a 1-1 draw against Sweden in their opening Group E fixture and they were excellent and will be distraught at having surrendered two points.
Martin O'Neill's men head into this tournament as one of the favourites to depart at the first time of asking, particularly with the likes of Belgium and Italy in their group but a result in their next two fixtures could leave them with an outside chance of progressing as one of the third best sides, defeat will leave them needing a win against Italy and that could ultimately knock them out of the tournament.
ROI come into this match in good form and despite dropping two points against Sweden they will be looking to produce a similar performance given that they limited Sweden and star striker to Zlatan Ibrahimovic to no shots over the 90 minutes and that is an excellent performance.
They will be heavily reliant on all members of their squad as they play as a unit rather than relying on any individuals but the experience of John O'Shea and Robbie Keane will prove crucial if they are to gain any points from the big hitters in Group E.
They know that a win against Belgium will pretty much guarantee passage to the latter stages of the tournament, something that will be a major achievement given that they are underdogs.
Republic of Ireland are the underdogs at 4/1 with Shane Long the favourite to score first at 7/1.
Iceland vs Hungary – Saturday 18th June 2016 – 17:00 - BBC One
Iceland face off against Hungary at the Stade Vélodrome in the second round of Group F fixtures, this fixture is huge for Hungary who can qualify with a win but for Iceland the chance to win a match at their maiden European appearance would be an incredible achievement.
Iceland come into this match second in Group F after their opening 1-1 draw against Portugal on Tuesday. They put in an excellent performance all round against Portugal where they initially went behind to a Nani goal but they found an equaliser and managed to keep both Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo at bay, who was understandably upset at full time but didn't conduct himself in glory.
Iceland head into this tournament as one of the favourites to drop out immediately, this is their first appearance at the European Championships and their population is 331,000 people which is absolutely incredible and when you compare that to Ronaldo's 41,000,000 twitter followers its ridiculous.
Due to the strength in depth of their squad they still remain heavy favourites to be knocked out in the first round but they do have players with the quality of Sigurdsson and Eidur Gudjohnsen so they have every chance.
They face a Hungary side who are top of Group F having defeated Austria by 2-0 and despite that scoreline they remain the underdogs in this match with many hoping that Iceland give the writers another underdog story.
They have Hungary and Austria left in the final two fixtures and they know a win today will allow them to be in the box seat to progress to the latter stages of this tournament if they beat Austria as well.
Iceland are the favourites for this match and are at 6/4 on to win with Kolbeinn Sigthorsson the favourite to score first at 5/1.
Hungary come into this match top of the group having managed an excellent 2-0 win against Austria in their opening Group F fixture and they will be delighted at registering a win in their first game of the tournament and know a follow up win here will see them progress.
Hungary headed into this tournament as one of the favourites to depart at the first time of asking, particularly with the likes of Portugal in their group but a result in their next two fixtures could leave them with an excellent chance of progressing as group winners and a result here would leave them in the box seat to finish top.
Hungary come into this match in good form and the opening win leaves them in an excellent position and with Portugal left to come in the final group match, it could be a mouth watering tie and a spectacular one for the neutral.
They will be heavily reliant on all members of their squad as they play as a unit rather than relying on any individuals but the experience of Gabor Kiraly and Tamas Priskin will prove crucial if they are to gain any points from their remaining games in Group F.
They know that a win against Iceland will pretty much guarantee passage to the latter stages of the tournament, something that will be a major achievement given that they are underdogs.
They are the underdogs in this tie and to secure the win they are 2/1 with Tamas Priskin at 11/2.
Portugal vs Austria – Saturday 18th June 2016 – 20:00 - BBC One
Portugal face off against Austria at the Parc des Princes in the second round of Group F fixtures, this fixture is huge for Austria who need to win to stay in the tournament but they face a wounded animal in Portugal who will be looking to better the performance and result against Iceland.
Portugal come into this match third in Group F after their opening 1-1 draw against Iceland on Tuesday. They put in an average performance all round against Iceland where they initially went ahead through a Nani goal but Iceland found an equaliser and managed to keep both Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo at bay, who was understandably upset at full time but didn't conduct himself in glory.
Portugal head into this tournament as one of the favourites to progress into the next round, but their failure to beat Iceland who are enjoying their first appearance at the European Championships. Their population is 331,000 people which is absolutely incredible and when you compare that to Ronaldo's 41,000,000 twitter followers its ridiculous.
Due to the strength in depth of their squad they still remain heavy favourites to progress and they do have players with the quality of Ronaldo, Nani and Quaresma so they are still favourites to top the group and a win here could set up a mouth watering match against Hungary to decide who will top Group F.
They face an Austria side who are bottom of Group F having been defeated by Hungary 2-0 and they remain the underdogs in this match with Portugal seemingly very motivated to put their previous result right.
They have Hungary and Austria left in the final two fixtures and they know a win today will allow them to be in the box seat to progress to the latter stages of this tournament if they beat Hungary as well.
Portugal remain favourites at 4/5 with Cristiano Ronaldo at 5/2 to score first.
Austria come into this match bottom of the group having been beaten 2-0 against Hungary in their opening Group F fixture and they will be looking to produce a far better performance and result.
Austria headed into this tournament as one of the favourites to depart at the first time of asking, particularly with the likes of Portugal in their group but a result in their next two fixtures could leave them with an outside chance of progressing as the third best side to progress.
Austria come into this match in mixed form having won and lost three matches of their last six and the opening win leaves them in an poor position and with Portugal a wounded animal having had a poor game by their standards it will take an exceptional performance to beat them.
They will be heavily reliant on all members of their squad as they play as a unit rather than relying on any individuals but the experience and class of Christian Fuchs, David Alaba and Marco Arnautovic will prove crucial if they are to gain any points from their remaining games in Group F.
They know that a win against Portugal will still give them an excellent chance to progress to the latter stages of the tournament, something that will be a major achievement given that they are underdogs.
Austria remain underdogs and are at 18/5 with Marc Janko to score first at 13/2.
Today's Selections
Tip 1 – Belgium to win 2-1 @ 7/1 and Romelu Lukaku to score first @ 7/2
Tip 2 – Iceland to win 2-1 @ 9/1 and Tamas Priskin to score first @ 11/2
Tip 3 - Portugal to win 2-1 @ 15/2 with Cristiano Ronaldo at 5/2 to score first.
All Tips Courtesy Of Sky Bet.