The focus on Saturday turns very much to the toughest looking group at Euro 2012, with the Group B campaign kicking off with Holland taking on Denmark at the Medalist Stadium at 5pm.
With Germany and Portugal also in the pool, Group B certainly deserves to have the label of ‘Group of Death’ as all four sides are currently ranked in the world’s top 10 – and Joachim Low’s men are currently 3/1 joint favourites with Spain to go all the way.
Holland are third favourites to lift the trophy at 6/1 while they are 7/4 to take Group B honours, with Denmark on offer at 12/1 to surprise a few people and book their place in the knockout stages.
With the quality of opposition in the group, none of the sides can really afford to take their foot off the gas but in this case the pressure will be on Holland to deliver, with Denmark widely regarded as the weakest link in the group.
As such, it is no surprise to see Bert van Marwijk’s men installed as 8/13 favourites in the match betting, with the draw priced at 11/4 and Denmark available at 11/2 to cause a shock.
These two sides actually locked horns in their opening game of the World Cup in 2010 with the Oranje running out 2-0 winners (6/1 for a repeat scoreline), en route to their run through to the final where they lost to Spain.
Holland have certainly had the better of recent form having not lost to the Scandinavians in their last eight meetings – five of them draws – with Dirk Kuyt and a Daniel Agger own goal making the difference two years ago.
Kuyt did not score the killer second goal until the 85th minute so Holland will have to work for the win, although they look to have more players who can make the difference in any game.
Arjen Robben enjoyed a fine campaign in South Africa while he has been the scourge of many a team across Europe for Bayern Munich but he is far from the only threat in a squad that boasts the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Ibrahim Afellay.
It certainly looks as though there will be plenty of service for the frontmen but, even though Robin van Persie enjoyed a sensational season with Arsenal, it may pay to side with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar at 4/1 in the First Goalscorer market as the Schalke striker outshone his compatriot in qualifying with 12 goals to six.
Of course, a lot will depend on the team put out by van Marwijk but there is no doubt that the threat is definitely there for the Dutch as they look to get off to a winning start.
Denmark do not have quite the same strength in depth but will try and make themselves hard to beat, emphasised by just one defeat in qualifying as they topped Group H – with Portugal incidentally only finishing second in the group.
There are less household names for coach Morten Olsen to call on but Christian Eriksen has been making a name for himself at Ajax and will certainly be one to look out for – particularly with the transfer window now open.
Nicklas Bendtner has not quite hit the heights that he expected in the Premier League but has a decent scoring record for his country with 18 goals in 48 games, while the veteran Dennis Rommedahl is the only other player in double figures – 21 goals in 116 games.
It is a side on the up for Denmark with potential to get better but a game against an in-form, experienced and talented Dutch side may well just be a bridge too far.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.