Tasty Spain look final value

It's a sad weekend folks!
We have reached the end of Euro 2008, no more football for over a month but we can look forward to the busy Transfer window in July and we should see where Ronaldo ends up.
On to Sunday's final and based on the two semi-finals you have to go with Spain - as we all know in this game, it doesn't always work out that way. Spain are a general 5/4 shot with the Germans the 5/2 underdogs and it's 9/4 the draw.
We tipped Spain from the start and if they oblige on Sunday then I could afford a wee break there with my winnings - do I lay off and back the Germans? NO CHANCE!
I think Spain will have too much for this German defence and fully expect Casillas to lift the trophy at around 9.45 Sunday night.
Hope bloggers lumped on Spain (-1) yesterday at 7/2 - we think the same for the final, Other nice punts Cesc Fabregas to get Man Of The Match 9/1 - (he has to start), Spain to win 3-1 (18/1), and at last Fernando Torres to open the scoring at 5/1 (he has to)

Competition

We have teamed up with Sean Grahams to giveaway 2 x £50 bets for the final on Sunday.
We have made it easier - all you have to do is predict the FIRST GOALSCORER in the FINAL on Sunday evening.
To enter just send a email to puntersguide@irelandclick.com
and you will entered in tonight's scorecast draw and Sunday's Final draw - surely someone will pick a winner!
One sweat Paddy Thompson has his free fifty quid bet on Spain outright!

COMING SOON

The Punters Guide will be launching a brand NEW WEBSITE at the end of August will some tasty new formats and sponsors.

FREE £50 BETS FOR THE FINAL

We have teamed up with Sean Grahams to giveaway 2 x £50 bets for the final on Sunday.
We have made it easier - all you have to do is predict the FIRST GOALSCORER in the FINAL on Sunday evening.

To enter just send a email to puntersguide@irelandclick.com
and you will entered in tonight's scorecast draw and Sunday's Final draw
2 winners will be notified before 12 on Friday

Spain to win the game of Russian roulette

We have reached the semi-final stages of Euro 2008 and by the time you read this you will know one of the teams for Sunday’s final.
The Germans await the winners off tonight's other semi-final and whoever wins that one will must fancy themselves against this German side.
Spain will face the might of Russia who it has to be said completely played the Dutch off the park on Saturday night. Forget the the first game these two teams played when Spain ran out comfortable 4-1 winners – tonight's game will be a different ball game completely
This Russian team have flair and like to play ball to feet football and in Andrei Arshavin they have one of the best players on show. This guy was banned for the first two games and since he came back into the fold the Russians look a different team.
Spain beat a poor Italy team on penalties on Sunday night to at last break their penalty hoodoo.
Will coach Luis Aragones start with Cesc Fabregas tonight? The Arsenal man impressed on Sunday when he replaced Xavi, who could well miss out.
He will start with prolific duo Fernando Torres and top tournament goalscorer David Villa and I think that is where this semi-final could be won or lost.
If the those two strikers turn up against this Russian defence tonight then SPAIN (6/5) look too good to turn down.
Other bets that catch the eye are Spain (-1) 7/2, Torres to score first goal 9/2, or to score at anytime at 13/8.

GERMANS TO BOOK FINAL SPOT

Have to admit that I was devastated when Turkey knocked silky Croatia out on Friday - not because I backed the Croats, no because it did us out of an absolute cracking match tonight.
The Germans are unbackable at 2/5 - they are however 6/5 (-1) which looks a good punt. Turkey have 13 fit players to choose from and their luck is bound to run out. Are they Greece in disguise? You just get that feeling.
Selected bets for tonight:
Germany (-1) 6/5
First Goal Ballack 6/1
Germany to win 3-0 8/1
First Player Booked Hakan Balta at 10/1

SEAN GRAHAM BETS

Betting Available Upto 8pm Tonight (Wednesday)

Win Outright
11/8 Kathreya 25 Dale
4/1 Luke 25 Mohamed
8 Michael 33 Jennifer
8 Darnell 33 Mario
12 Rachel 80 Lisa
16 Rebbecca 80 Dennis
25 Rex 150 Sylvia
Top Male Top Female
13/8 Luke ½ Kathreya
7/2 Darnell 5 Rachel
4 Michael 5 Rebecca
10 Mohamed 8 Jennifer
10 Rex 33 Lisa
12 Dale 50 Sylvia
16 Mario
25 Dennis
All Win Only ; Others On Request


GOLF: Buick Open
Betting Available Upto 12:00pm Thursday Afternoon
Grand Blanc G&CC, Michigan Starts Thursday
11 Furyk 50 Glover 80 Chopra
11 Perry.K 66 Austin 80 Estes
16 Leonard 66 Armour.T 80 Gay
20 Slocum 66 DiMarco 80 Goydos
25 Verplank 66 Green.N 80 Howell.C
25 Snedeker 66 Goggin 80 Lehman
33 Crane 66 Hart 80 Taylor
40 Baird 66 Moore 90 Wilson.D
40 Quinney 66 Oberholser 100 Day
40 Pampling 66 Quigley 100 Duke
50 Mediate 66 Rollins 100 Funk
50 O’Hern 66 Watney 100 Lonard
50 Pernice 70 Cejka 100 Senden
50 Watson.B 70 Jacobson 125 Coles
Each Way ¼ Odds 1,2,3,4,5 ; Others On Request

72 Hole Groups
Group A Group B
7/2 Mediate 7/2 Austin
7/2 O’Hern 7/2 Armour.T
7/2 Pernice 7/2 Dimarco
7/2 Watson.B 7/2 Green.N
7/2 Glover 7/2 Moore.R

72 Hole Matches – All Ties = 16/1
9/10 Furyk v Perry.K 9/10
4/5 Slocum v Verplank Evs
9/10 Glover v Pernice 9/10
4/5 Leonard v Snedeker Evs
9/10 Rollins v Quigley 9/10

Open De France Golf
Betting Available Upto Close Of Business Wednesday
Starts Early Thursday Morning
Alstom GC, France Starts Thursday
12 Westwood 50 Kjeldsen 70 Erlandsson
12 Karlsson 50 Dredge 70 Lynn
14 Cabrera.A 50 Schwartzel 70 Randhawa
18 Kaymer 55 Monty 70 Strange
22 Hansen.A 60 Derksen 75 Forsyth
22 Hansen.S 66 Bickerton 80 Bjorn
25 Jimenez 66 Fisher.R 80 Delamontagne
28 Poulter 66 Jacquelin 80 Edfors
33 Clarke.D 66 Khan 80 Hanson.Pr
33 Wilson.O 66 Molinari.F 80 Havret
36 Dougherty 66 McDowell 80 Howell.D
40 Green.R 66 Noren 80 Ilonen
40 Levet 66 O’Malley 80 McIlroy
40 Singh.Jm 66 Sterne 80 Webster.St
50 Storm 70 McGinley 100 Aguilar
Each Way 1/4 Odds 1,2,3,4,5 Others On Request

72 Hole Groups
Group A Group B
7/2 Poulter 7/2 Storm
7/2 Hansen.S 7/2 Kjeldsen
7/2 Clarke.D 7/2 Dredge
7/2 Wilson.O 7/2 Schwartzel
7/2 Dougherty 7/2 Monty

72 Hole Matches – All Ties = 16/1
4/5 Westwood v Karlsson Evs
9/10 Hansen.S v Hansen.A 9/10
9/10 Wilson.O v Clarke.D 9/10
9/10 Derksen v Fisher.R 9/10
9/10 Levet v Green.R 9/10

Spain and Germans put in at 6/4

transfer talk & Latest betting..
We start with the latest betting as the first semi-final is nearly upon us - Sean Graham can't split Germany or Spain and they are both 6/4 joint favourites. Russia remain a live outside bet at 7/2 and the Turks are as big as 8/1 with the same firm.
Click on the right hand side of the blog to view both semi-final coupons.
Start emailing the PG and you could win free bets on the semi-finals and the final - the all-important email is now g.mulhern@belfastmediagroup.com

On to the latest transfer mumblings and it looks like Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor will stay (thank god for that) after being courted by AC Milan and Barca - staying in North London and Arsenal have signed £13.3million wonderkid Samir Nasri from Marseille. One for the Yid Army - Lukas Podolski has issued a ‘come and get me’ plea to Spurs - good player!.
Gary Megson is set to smash Bolton’s transfer record with a £12million swoop for Sweden hitman Johan Elmander - Bolton to go down looks a good punt next season. Liverpool fans be prepared for triple swoop as Rafael Benitez will demand £50million in big-name transfers. On his shopping list are David Villa, Daniel Alves, David Silva and Gareth Barry - Villa and Alves would greatly improve the team. West Ham have slapped a massive £8million price tag on Aston Villa target Anton Ferdinand -would swap him for Pascal Cygan.. Villa are also lining up a bid for Andy Johnson. Old Blues boss Jose Mourinho has cut short his holiday to take charge of Inter Milan’s pursuit of Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.
Poland midfielder Mariusz Lewandowski says he would love to play for Celtic while the Parkhead club face a double heartache in their moves for Roman Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent.
Shola Ameobi is closing in on a £3million move to West Brom - crazy money for a guy who spends more time on the treatment table. Even more crazy is that Michael Dawson is a £4million target for Newcastle - easy 4 million for Spurs.

Transfer News..
Good riddance seems to be the message from most local Man U fans as Ronaldo looks all set to fly the Old Trafford nest to join Real Madrid. The Spainish club will 'pay whatever it takes' - £70 million looks the likely bid.
Toffees boss David Moyes is making a shock move for Tottenham misfit Darren Bent as he gets ready to sell Andy Johnson - strange one that. Now this is a bit of a shock Portsmouth are linked with a £2million for Tottenham’s Younes Kabou - shocking!
Rangers have the rest of Europe shaking in their boots after signing Kyle Lafferty and Kenny Miller - striker Jean-Claude Darcheville has vowed to fight for his place at Ibrox.
Celtic will not consider making another move for James McFadden unless they receive an offer they can’t refuse for Aiden McGeady or Shunsuke Nakamura
Zenit St Petersburg want £10million for Russia star Andrei Arshavin, who has made himself one of the most sought-after players at Euro 2008 - Arsenal are favourites to land him.

Germans to cause upset

Any luck yet at Euro 2008? Our tips Spain and Croatia have eased in the quarter-finals.
In fact the only one to let us down in the Group betting was the the Czech Republic but we still handed out Croatia 11/4, Spain 5/6 and Holland 5/2 to win their respective groups.
On to the weekend action and as we go to press there is just one outstanding quarter-final line up to be resolved.
We start with tonight’s (Thursday) first quarter-final and Portugal will entertain Germany in Basel, and what a game this looks on paper.
Portugal have looked impressive in the group stages and had the luxury of resting players for the Switzerland game, so the likes of Gomes, Deco and Ronaldo all come back in fresh.
The Germans fell over the finishing line in Group B and that’s why they are the outsiders in this one, but I just have an inkling for GERMANY (2/1) to upset the Portuguese – with Michael Ballack playing at the top of his game and Lukas Podolski rediscovering his goal touch these Germans will be no soft touch.
The Friday night match sees Turkey take on the unbeaten Croats in Vienna. The Turks have been leaving it late in recent matches and their stickability has seen them progress to the last eight.
They face Croatia, a team in form, a team who clearly have togetherness and a team that will be very difficult to beat. You can still get 7/1 about Slaven Bilic’s team to win it outright which looks the best value left in the outright betting. Only one team for us in Vienna on Friday night and CROATIA (1/1) looks the bet.
On to Saturday night and we have in-form Holland taking on the vey much in-form Russians .
We fancy HOLLAND 1/1 to progress to the semi-finals on Saturday night, they just ooze class all over the field.
The last quarter-final match sees ante-post favourites Spain take on a very lucky Italy side who scraped through in the Group of Death, defeating a demoralised French team on Tuesday night. The Sunday evening game looks the best of the lot but the Italians will be missing Pirlo, by far their best player, and midfield scrapper Gatusso. SPAIN (6/4) have eased through and although they don’t look solid at the back, going forward they are a different proposition.
This will be a massive test for the favourites but we are banking on Fernando Torres and co to book their semi-final place.
First Goalscorer Yankee: Ollic (Croatia) 6/1, Torres (Spain ) 9/2, Van Nistlerooy (Holland) 5/1, Ballack (Germany) 6/1

Ascot Hot-Picks
(3) winners yesterday 4/1, 1/1 and 10/1 puts us in profit for the first 12 races

2.30 Cerito
3.05 Michita
Gold Cup Yeats
4.20 Redford
4.55 Unnefer
5.30 Strategic Mission

Transfer News...
Not that much today and news has that the Gunners are ready to make a £10million bid for Andrei Arshavin- looks good player while Aston Villa are ready to move for Blackburn midfielder David Bentley with a £15million bid -Spurs are also interested.
AC Milan player Kaka does not want to move to Chelsea in the summer.

Fancy a free £10 scorecast this week - start emailing to puntersguide@irelandclick.com

....Transfer News
Rangers will beat Celtic to signing of Kyle Lafferty today, with Alan Gow the key to the deal while ex-Rangers boss Alex McLeish is planning a £1.5million move for Rangers striker Kris Boyd.
Now this is funny Celtic midfielder Scott Brown could miss the start of next season because of a sore thumb!!! - Celtic have bid £6.3 million for Russian hitman Roman Pavlyuchenko - good player
Good news for Utd fans the Glazer family have said Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale at any price and also Arsenal fans after Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sent AC Milan a personal fax telling them striker Emmanuel Adebayor is not for sale at any price but beware Barcelona are to make a £24million offer for him.
Liverpool will refuse to pay Aston Villa's 'outrageous' £20million asking price for their over rated midfielder Gareth Barry.
New boys West Brom have made an offer for Czech Republic and Lyon striker Milan Baros - that's them relegated.
Roma are set to sign Manchester United sicknote striker Louis Saha on loan with a view to a permanent deal - mad!

Fancy a free £10 scorecast this week - start emailing to puntersguide@irelandclick.com

Henrythenavigator looks banker bet on opening day at Royal Ascot

Henrythenavigator, the duel Guineas winner looks a penalty kick on the opening day at Royal Ascot as he tackles the St JAMES PALACE STAKES GROU (3.05) - you won't get rich backing him as he is 8/13 on.
Tariq gets the nod in the opener (2.30) - just!
Fleeting Spirit looks a big sprinter in the making and will take some stopping in the KING'S STAND STAKES (3.45).
A few live ones to watch for
Instalment (COVENTRY STAKES 4.20) 16/1
Liberate (ASCOT STAKES HANDICAP 4.55) 5/1
Brae Hill (WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES 5.30) 8/1

Romania to get Dutch treat?

Germany booked their place in the quarter-finals with victory against co-hosts Austria last night.
The one-time favourites of Euro 2008 are now a 5/1 shot while Croatia who beat the Germans and everybody else in the group and are as big as 7/1 - a better bet do you think.
Spain remain the 10/3 favourites closely followed by the impressive Dutch who get a 7/2 quote while Portugal who face the Germans on Thursday night get a 9/2 pricing.
Tonight's games look tight - will Holland turn up against Romania? - will France turn up for Euro 2008?
Our Tuesday night double France 7/4 and Romania 11/10, Mutu and Henry first goals works out around 41/1 with Grahams

Fancy a free £10 scorecast this week - start emailing to puntersguide@irelandclick.com

Monday winners

MM: Ballack 3-0 28/1

RH: Smolarek 2-1 33/1

keep entering folks at puntersguide@irelandclick.com

Transfer Gossip:
In-form Spain striker David Villa, locked in a three-way £25million battle between Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona all looking to sign him - he has hinted that he would love to join Liverpool.
Over-rated Gareth Barry proposed transfer to Liverpool moved that wee bit closer last night after it emerged plans to hold a testimonial for him at Aston Villa had been dumped.
Loyal to the cause is not David Bentley who insists he wants to quit Blackburn this summer - whoever they appoint as boss.
Sunderland manager Roy Keane is ready to stage an audacious summer bid to snatch my SPL player of the season Aiden McGeady from Celtic. Inter Milan have been linked with a move for Arsenal and Holland always injured striker Robin van Persie.

Fancy a free £10 scorecast this week - start emailing to puntersguide@irelandclick.com

20-1 winner for blog

PG golfing pundit Kevin Officer yet again delivered at the weekend when he correctly predicted that Robert Karlsson was a cracking each-way bet at 80/1 in the US Open - Swede Karlsson finished three shots of the pace but nit's 20/1 the place.
Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods will fight it out for the major later. Tiger is 1/3 on while Mediate is 3/1.

more winners

FF: has went for Torres and Spain to win 3-1
Mcaloran Francis has went fo Ronaldo and Portugal to win 2-0
JC: can I have Pavluchenko and the Russians to win 3-1

In-form Leonard looks too big at 66/1

US OPEN
We have our golfing guru Kevin Officer back in the hot-seat this week to give us his US Open insight and where we should put our money this weekend...
Today sees the start of the second golf major of 2008, the US Open.
It’s being held this year at the beautiful Torrey Pines golf course in San Diego. The organisers this year have really spiced things up, fixing the draw so the top three players in the world – Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson and Australian Adam Scott – have been paired together for today’s opening round three-ball. It is expected to be an extremely tough test for the best players in the world.
Tiger Woods returns to the fray and this is the World Number One’s first tournament in over two months since undergoing knee surgery and he has not played a full round of golf since, so four rounds of golf on this demanding course may take its toll on Woods.
Despite all of this he is still the hot favourite and is 3/1 in places to win his 14th Major, which would put him just four away from the great Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors. Woods has won on this course a remarkable six times before so as the old saying goes, “Beware of the injured Tiger.”
The course measures 7,643 yards, the longest US Open course in history.
Canny organisers have also fixed the draw so as the great English young guns of Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter all play together.
Defending champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina has been grouped with British Open champion Padraig Harrington and Davis Love III for the opening two rounds, while Vijay Singh, Stewart Cink and Spaniard Sergio Garcia will be together in the first round.
Garcia claimed the prestigious Players Championship last month but no European golfer has won the US Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970.
One of our each-way tips is Robert Karlsson of Sweden who is the best golfer in Europe at the moment. Karlsson is overpriced at 66/1, but a better bet must be for Karlsson to be the top European golfer at 18/1.
The stats are there to back it up, with the Swede finishing in the top five in his last four tournaments on the European tour.
So who are we tipping to win?, that’s the question?
After we tipped Stewart Cink at 80/1 in the first Major of the year, the US Masters, every man and his dog on the road piled on him each-way, which paid 1/4 the odds, so again we have gone for a good each-way bet.
American Justin Leonard is priced at 66/1 at the moment, over-the-top odds for the in-form player of the past few weeks. Leonard won last week on the US Tour and his game is hotting up just in time for the Ryder Cup later in the year. Phil Mickleson is also playing well at the moment and has two wins in the past six weeks. He is best priced at 10/1.
US Open Bets: Phil Mickleson 10/1, Justin Leonard 66/1 (e/w), Robert Karlson 66/1 (e/w), Karlsson also to be top European 18/1.

Free Bets

Right folks anyone who wants a free £10 scorecast - just email us at puntersguide@irelandclick.com and you will go into the daily draw - if you have already won one, SO! keep entering! need to be in before 2.00pm everyday!

courtesy of Sean Grahams

Spain new favourites after romp

Spain are now as low as the 3/1 favourites in places after their easy 4-1 against luckless Russia and are 1/3 to win Group D. Sweden have also been cut into 33s after a fine 2-0 win against boring Greece who are the 150/1 outsiders.
On to this evening games and it’s hard to split the Czech Republic and Portugal and we are going for a draw here at 12/5.
Switzerland (13/10) did enough in the second half against the Czech Republic to convince me to tip them to beat the Turks this evening.

transfer talk: This Ronaldo thing just goes on and on now Ramon Calderon says Real Madrid will pay whatever it takes to land the winger..
Liverpool will up their bid for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry to £14million (CRAZY MONEY FOR OVER-RATED PLAYER) who has confirmed he will move while Arsenal are lining up Werder Bremen ace Torsten Frings to replace Mathieu Flamini. Chelsea are locked in a £20million battle with Inter for Barcelona’s Samuel Eto'o.
Pascal Chimbonda has been told he can leave Tottenham for £2million, with Fulham, Villa and Rangers all interested.
Finally Celtic have told Sampdoria that their Italian flop Massimo Donati is not for sale.

Horsewatch Tuesday: Hopefully better luck than yesterday - Carniolan (3.15 Salisbury)

Monday £10 winners JC went for France to win 2-0 and Henry and ANDYBHOY went for a France 3-0 win and Henry as well/
Tuesday £10 winners WILLIE has went for Larrson and a 1-1 draw in the Sweden v Greece game while ES has went for Torres and a 3-1 Spain victory against Russia

Thanks to Sean Grahams for the free bets - keep entering folks, the more times you email puntersguide@irelandclick.com the more chances you have of winning.

Dutch backed after easy win

Holland have been cut to 11/2 from (14s) after their easy 3-0 romp against Italy who looked a shadow of their former selves.
Italy have been pushed out to 12/1. France again looked toothless up front and could only draw 0-0 with Romania to beat us out of our Monday double. still 5 from 6 winning selections - not bad!
We are hoping for a SPAIN (4/5) win tonight as we have backed them in everything and hope TORRES 9/2 can opening the scoring.
We have like the look of a DRAW 2/1 in the Sweden v Greece game at 7.45 and have a liking for KALLSTROM 16/1 for the first goal.


Right folks anyone who wants a free £10 scorecast this week just email us at puntersguide@irelandclick.com and you will go into the daily draw - if you have already won one, SO! keep entering!

transfer news.... Bayern Munich are the latest club to show an an interest in Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb who wants a move away from London. Crazy news that Wayne Bridge has been offered four-year deal worth £45,000-a-week to stay at Chelsea - I think he's a poor left-back. Staying in defence and poor defenders Tottenham are ready to accept £3million for defender Younes Kaboul, after splashing out £8million on him just a year ago.
Newcastle have tabled a £10million bid for St Etienne's French international striker Bafetimbi Gomis, even though he signed a four-year deal with the club last week.Wigan have emerged as favourites to sign former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse from Marseille in a £5million deal.
Liverpool are still confident of signing midfielder Albert Reira from Espanyol despite an asking price of £19million.
AC Milan are hoping to hijack Manchester City's £18million bid for CSKA Moscow's Brazilian striker Jo.
It won't go away and now ristiano Ronaldo's brother told a Spanish radio station that the Portuguese star 'wants to play for Real Madrid.
Celtic could pip Rangers and Wolves to the signing of Burnley striker Kyle Lafferty and are ready to offer Derek Riordan as a makeweight to secure the deal.

Go Dutch with our Monday double

Nobody has set alight the Euro 2008 -yet!
Germany and Portugal looked comfortable going forward but both teams look shaky at the back as some of the so-called big boys start their tournaments.
On to tonight's games and France (4/5) kick off tonight against Romania and we are taking the French to win this one - but expect the Romanians to make them work for it - First Goal Thierry Henry (5/1)
What a game tonight at 7.45 when World Champs Italy tackle Holland in what is the biggest game so far - Regular readers of the PG know we have took Italy to go out in the early stages so we have to go with Holland (2/1) tonight. First Goal Van Der Vaart (11/1)>

Punters Guide strikes with 12/1 QUAD

Great start to Euro 2008 for us we start the tournament with a winning quad.
We urged punters to lump on
CZECH REP 6/4
PORTUGAL 8/11
CROATIA 10/11
GERMANY 4/7
hope some bloggers followed our advice!

Right folks anyone who wants a free £10 scorecast this week just email us at puntersguide@irelandclick.com and you will go into the daily draw - if you have already won one, SO! keep entering!

Friday Tip: As we predicted in the PG Lush Lashes (Oaks 4.05 Epsom)

Torres looks nailed on for top Premiership marksman

The Golden Boot betting for Euro 2008 is led by Liverpoool striker Fernando Torres at around 8/1.
I always have said whatever country you fancy, back their leading striker to be top goalscorer.
I think Torres is a great bet at 8/1 but an even better bet to be the top Premiership player at Euro 2008 – Sean Graham price him at 11/4 and Ronaldo is the only danger in my book at threes.
The doubles available aren’t great value this time with Torres and Spain only a 16/1 shot – that’s 6/1 and 8/1 prices, it’s usually half the odds not a 1/3.
Another few that catch the eye and worth a interest are France & Henry at 50/1 if you fancy a French win or one that I like, Croatia & Petric at 100/1.
Ruud Van Nistlerooy to be top scorer and a Dutch win is as big as 50/1.
Let’s get the ball rolling for the weekend games and we think that Czech Republic (6/4) will get the tournament under way with a win over joint host Switzerland in Basle. Portugal (8/11) should also make a winning start against Turkey on Saturday night.
On to Sunday and CROATIA (10/11) should beat other joint hosts Austria and making the PG weekend Euro 2008 Quad up are Germany (4/7) who look too strong for Poland.
First FOUR punters to email me to puntersguide@irelandclick.com win a free £10 scorecast bet at the weekend

Horse Tip Thursday: Blandings Castle (4.00pm Newton Abbot)

Spanish look solid punt for Euro title, but keep a close eye on live outsiders Croatia

Last week the Punters Guide Euro 2008 predictor got as far as the quarter-finals and that’s where we begin this week.
This was our quarter-final line-up from last week: Czech Republic v Germany, Croatia v Portugal, Holland v Russia, Spain v France.
After many hours of studying we have now come up with the semi-final line-up – remember folks, this is only if our group sections were 100% correct and this is the way we think it could pan out.
Germany look strong for this tournament and will be very difficult to beat and we are taking Michael Ballack and co to oust the Czech Republic and progress to the semi-finals in a tight game.
Croatia are probably the best footballing side at the competition but like Arsenal in the Premiership, the easiest team on the eye don’t always win trophies.
However, we can see Portugal struggling against the Croats and we are taking Slaven Bilic’s side to go through and face Germany in the first semi-final.
Holland, I have to say, looked good against Wales at the weekend and to be truthful I forgot about the likes of Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Snijder so I can now see them beating Russia in the quarter-finals.
The last quarter-final match could see Spain take on France in Vienna. The French are struggling for goals even though they have the likes of Thierry Henry and Lyon strike sensation Karim Benzema leading the line backed up by the talented Franck Ribery.
Spain will be a handful for any team with the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Marcos Senna feeding strikers David Villa and Fernando Torres and they could well exploit a weak French rearguard – so it’s Spain for us to progress.
So the Punters’ Guide predictor has come up with this semi-final line up – Germany v Croatia and Holland v Spain.
On to semi-final one and expect a shock folks, Croatia to beat Germany and book their place in the final in what looks an entertaining semi if it happens.
What a pairing in the other semi-final with Holland and Spain locking horns. It looks a tight one to call but we just think Luis Aragones’ side will edge out Marco Van Basten’s Dutch side in a Titanic battle.
So that all leaves us with a Spain v Croatia final, priced as high as 25/1 in places.
So the big question now is, who wins Euro 2008?
We are going for the under achiever of international soccer, Spain, to finally get that monkey off their backs.
To me they have the strongest band of players and look strong in every position. The Croats will no pushovers but it’s Spain to lift the Euro 2008 trophy in Vienna on June 29 – the 6/1 on offer now could look a good price come that night.
If it all pans out as above I will be spending the summer in Florida, but I have to admit I took some stick for putting Italy out in the qualifying phase.
If the Italians do anything at Euro 2008 my house will be on the market.

Ronaldo Madrid bound?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s “ BIG decision” on his future will not come before Friday – but there is an increasing sense he might be ready to say he wants to leave Manchester United - he will never have another season like the one he just had!
Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill apparently wants £8million and Peter Crouch for Gareth Barry - great bit of business for Villa.
Leeds are plotting a £1million raid on Celtic flop for Derek Riordan while Stephen McManus has pleaded with Celtic to make Georgios Samaras an offer he can’t refuse once Euro 2008 is over.
Dean Ashton is set to sign a £13million new deal with West Ham - are they mad? CAshley Cole is the shock top Chelsea target of new Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho.
Sunderland have emerged as rivals to Fulham in the race for under-rated Wigan dfender Paul Scharner.
Bolton manager Gary Megson is ready to battle Newcastle and Aston Villa in a £4million scrap for Tottenham defender Michael Dawson - mind blowing!

EURO 2008 CASH BACK OFFER from Sean Grahams

DATE SATURDAY 7TH JUNE
GAME SWITZERLAND v CZECH REP
7/4 2/1 Draw 13/8
OFFER If a player is shown a red card in any of the group matches, we will refund all losing stakes on 1st/last goalscorer and correct score single on that match. Max refund £100/€150.
TIME 5:00PM
LIVE TV COVERAGE BBC ONE & RTE 2
DATE SATURDAY 7TH JUNE
GAME PORTUGAL V TURKEY
4/5 12/5 Draw 7/2
OFFER If a player is shown a red card in any of the group matches, we will refund all losing stakes on 1st/last goalscorer and correct score single on that match. Max refund £100/€150.
TIME 7:45pm
LIVE TV COVERAGE I.T.V & RTE 2

DATE SUNDAY 8TH JUNE
GAME AUSTRIA v CROATIA
10/3 11/5 draw 10/11
OFFER If a player is shown a red card in any of the group matches, we will refund all losing stakes on 1st/last goalscorer and correct score single on that match. Max refund £100/€150.
TIME 5:00PM
LIVE TV COVERAGE BBC ONE
DATE SUNDAY 8TH JUNE
GAME GERMANY v POLAND
4/7 13/5 draw 6/1
OFFER If a player is shown a red card in any of the group matches, we will refund all losing stakes on 1st/last goalscorer and correct score single on that match. Max refund £100/€150.
TIME 7:45pm
LIVE TV COVERAGE BBC ONE

.............breaking news: Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has been ruled out of Euro 2008 due to an ankle injury - we don't fancy them anyway!

Holland look tasty after Welsh win

Holland looked a in-form side on Sunday as they beat Wales 2-0 in their last warm-up match before the Euros and have a lot of admirers at 14/1. Sweden lost 1-0 in their last warm up game while France looked toothless up front drawing 0-0 with Paraquay.
Poland could only draw with Denmark (1-1), but Spain won 2-1 in their last game before Saturday's kick-off.
It's all building up ahead of the kick-off!!!

Transfer Whispers

Will he stay or will he go? Cristiano Ronaldo reveals his plans for the future in the next 48 hours while Blackburn are ready to replace £8.5million Liverpool target David Bentley with Wolves' Michael Kightly. Scotland striker Kenny Miller is set for a £1.75million move to Rangers from Derby. Arsene Wenger last night laughed off claims he will quit Arsenal for PSG in three years.
John Arne Riise is set to lead the exodus from Liverpool by sealing a £5million move to Roma - good money for the Kop if that goes through. A few for Celtic fans and Shaun Maloney's agent has poured cold water on speculation linking the Aston Villa midfielder with a switch back to Glasgow while German team Werder Bremen could hijack Celtic's £3million move for Georgios Samaras.

Remember: We have (2) x £50 FREE BETS courtesy of Sean Graham to giveaway this week and all you have to do to win one of the bets is answer this simple question - who won Euro 2004? answers to puntersguide@irelandclick.com before this Thursday 5th June.

WIN a £50 bet on Euro 2008

We have (2) x £50 FREE BETS courtesy of Sean Graham to giveaway this week and all you have to do to win one of the bets is answer this simple question - who won Euro 2004? answers to puntersguide@irelandclick.com before this Thursday 5th June.

Transfer Whispers

We will be keeping you up to date with transfer gossip throughout the summer - all taken from the daily papers.
News has it that Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is on the verge of joining Juventus for £14million.
Old Chelsea gaffer Jose Mourinho will take over as Inter Milan boss in the next 48 hours - with an instant swoop for Chelsea stars Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba.
Aston Villa are launching a £8million bid for Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart while Barcelona claim Arsenal winger Alexander Hleb will move to the Nou Camp next season. One for Celtic fans - injury prone Harry Kewell looks set to join the Parkhead club while Rangers have sold Filip Sebo to Valenciennes for £1million..
Tottenham are closing in on deals to sign Barcelona youngster Giovani dos Santos and Sevilla winger Diego Capel.
Arsenal are expected to sign Marseille midfielder Samir Nasri for £12.5million today.

Thumbs up for a Spain group win

WELCOME TO THE PUNTERS GUIDE (BELFAST MEDIA GROUP) ALL NEW EURO 2008 BLOG..
HOPEFULLY OVER THE NEXT MONTH WE CAN HELP YOU BEAT THE BOOKIE AS EURO 2008 GETS UNDERWAY

JUST over a week to go folks before the Euro 2008 Championships get under way in Austria/Switzerland with a month of live soccer ahead.
It starts with two matches live every day for two weeks – heavenly or what! The games will kick-off every evening at 5pm and 7.45pm.
On to the business end of things and Sean Graham bookmakers have installed Germany as their strong 4/1 favourites. We start this week with the group betting and next week who we think will win it outright.
Group A
Portugal lead the betting in Group A at 11/8 and it’s 9/4 the Czech Republic; joint hosts Switzerland get a 7/2 quote and making the Group up are Turkey at 6/1.
A tight wee group this and I wouldn’t be lumping on Portugal at 11/8 – they do have the best player in the world in their squad in Ronaldo (below left) but how much did the season take out of him? They do possess quality up front with Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida leading the line and they will get goals.
The Czech Republic are a solid outfit and will take all the beating in this group with the likes of Libor Sionko up front, but the strength in this team is their defence and they have the best keeper in the world, Petr Cech, keeping goal. They will, however, miss the guile of Tomas Rosicky who misses the competition through injury. Switzerland are captained by Arsenal defender Phillipe Senderos and that does not fill me with confidence while Turkey are not the team of old and will struggle in this group.
Selections 1. Czech Rep 2. Portugal

Group B
The Germans have a great draw and are 4/6 to win Group B which includes Croatia 9/4, Poland 13/2 and joint hosts Austria at 14/1.
To me Group B is two-horse race and we have an liking for the Croats at 9/4. As we all know, they cantered home in the qualifying and look a footballing side under Slaven Bilic, but can they cope without their top striker Eduardo? He will be a massive loss but they have strength in depth and watch out for new Spurs signing Luka Modric (left) who will be a big player for them at Euro 2008. The Germans, with an in-form Michael Ballack, should finish second in this group ahead of Austria and Poland.
Selections 1. Croatia 2 Germany

Group C
No doubt about it Group C is the Group of Death. World Champions Italy are the 13/8 favourites to win the Group and it’s old foes France at 15/8. Holland get a 5/2 quote while Romania are the outsiders at 10/1.
What a group this is and any of the four teams could win it – including Romania. The Romanians are no 10/1 shots, they finished above the Dutch in qualifying and will make it hard for all teams in this group relying on Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu who is back to top form. Italy do not light my fire at all and there is no way I would back them at those short odds to win this group and in fact can’t see Roberto Donadoni’s world champs qualifying from this group. Holland (below) under Marco Van Basten are improving, and fast! Their strike force of Ryan Babel, Jan Huntelaar, Dirk Kuyt, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink is easily the best at Euro 2008 and I fully expect the Dutch to win this group. France are another team who possess a quality strike force, but Raymond Domenech’s side look shaky in defence and that might be damaging for the French later in the competiton as we expect them to notch second, just ahead of Romania.
Selections 1. Holland 2. France

Group D
Spain lead the betting in Group D at 5/6 and it’s 4/1 Euro 2004 champions Greece, with Sweden and Russia both at 4/1.
The world’s under-achievers in soccer are Spain by a country mile, they are a football-loving nation who just seem to freeze in the big tournaments.
They usually glide through the qualifying tournaments, but this time round they faced a real struggle, even though they won their group. I think that will have toughened them up and for me they are a banker bet at 5/6 to win Group D. They have quality in depth, from defence to their strike force, and a lot will rest on the shoulders of Fernando Torres (above), but he has already shown that he relishes a challenge. So who will join them in the quarter-finals?
Sweden finished behind Spain in the qualifying stages, but they seem to lack quality.
I think Greece and Russia will battle it out for second spot. Greece qualifed with ease, losing only one game, while Russia qualified at the expense of England and I think they could be the surprise package at Europe 2008.
Selections 1. Spain 2. Russia

So this is the way the PG quarter-final line up pans out: Czech Republic v Germany, Croatia v Portugal, Holland v Russia, Spain v France. What a mouth-watering prospect.
Next week: We predict who we think will lift the trophy and the Golden Boot, and we call the opening matches.