Greece managed to battle their way back from a goal and a man down to secure a draw with Poland in their opening Euro 2012 fixture but, ahead of their second game against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, the valuable point came at a cost.

Defender Avraam Papadopoulos suffered a knee injury and will now miss the rest of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, while his partner in the first-choice centre-half pairing for Greece, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, was awarded a controversial red card and will miss out against the Czech Republic.

Greece coach Fernando Santos, of course, has other options at centre-half but with only PAOK’s Stelios Malezas and Kyriakos Papadopoulos, of Schalke, to call upon, he will be desperate for the pair to come through the match against the Czechs unscathed ahead of a potentially-decisive final group game with Russia.

Santos’ selection problems are not only confined to defence, however, with midfielder Giorgos Fotakis also doubtful due to a thigh problem.

In contrast, the Czech Republic have no significant injury worries but, after a demoralising 4-1 loss at the hands of Russia in their opening fixture, they almost certainly need to win on Tuesday if they’re to avoid an early exit at Euro 2012.

If the Czech Republic are to reach the latter stages of the competition they will need big performances from the likes of Vaclav Pilar, who scored their only goal against Russia and managed to impress despite the defeat, Jaroslav Plasil and Premier League pair Petr Cech and Tomas Rosicky.

Indeed, Chelsea keeper Cech insists all is not lost and insists his side can still qualify from Group A.

“The first game sometimes shows what the group will be like but it’s not the key one,” noted the talented shot-stopper.

“The crucial game will be the second one (against Greece). If we fail in that one, our chances of advancing will be very thin.

“A 4-1 defeat doesn’t look the best but it’s basically the same as 1-0…you simply get no points.

“We lost a battle, not the war. The good thing is we still have 180 minutes to advance. We have to look ahead, that’s what matters now.”

Greece looked bereft of ideas in the opening 45 minutes against Poland but the extremely harsh dismissal of Papastathopoulos seemed to galvanise Santos’ side as they produced an assured second-half display. In fact, Greece could well have gone on to win the game had it not been for a fine penalty save by Polish substitute keeper Przemyslaw Tyton following Wojciech Szczesny’s second-half sending off.

The Czech Republic struggled with the pace and swift movement of the Russians and should get more time on the ball against Greece, who are well organised and rely perhaps a little too much on the ageing Giorgos Karagounis as their creative outlet.

With the stakes high for both sides this contest promises to be a close affair as both countries cannot afford to lose, especially the Czechs who could be all but eliminated should they lose and Poland win in the later kick off.

Greece are priced at 11/5 to seal the win and they’re certainly capable of taking all three points if they can replicate their second-half display against Poland for 90 minutes on Tuesday, as Poland are arguably a better side than the Czech Republic.  A win for the Czechs is 7/5, while the draw is priced at 11/5.

One market that does stand out is the half-time result and the 20/21 on offer for a draw at half-time seems a decent bet considering neither side can really afford to lose the game, with an emphasis on defence expected from both sides.

Czech winger Pilar looked lively in an otherwise uninspiring team performance against Russia and if the 23-year-old continues to impress at Euro 2012 he could secure a move to one of Europe’s big leagues after the tournament. Pilar is priced at 5/1 to score at anytime in the match, which is worth some consideration given his display against the Russians, or 10/1 to score first for the braver punter.

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