Our tips for the opening game of Euro 2024 include victory for the hosts with an Arsenal star getting on the scoresheet.
Germany have waited almost six years since being selected as Euro 2024 hosts in September 2018 and they will be under pressure to make an immediate impression when taking on Scotland in Munich.
European glory has eluded the Germans since Euro 1996 when they triumphed 2-1 over the Czech Republic in the Wembley final with the help of two goals from Oliver Bierhoff.
However, the Germans have a far greater European Championship pedigree than Scotland, who are making only their fourth appearance at the finals having never previously advanced beyond the group phase.
Selections
Germany and over 2.5 goals
10/11
Kai Havertz to score anytime
6/5
Scotland to receive over 2.5 cards
6/4
Germans can hit the ground running
Germany have let down their supporters in recent times but they are expecting to contend at Euro 2024 and can kick off with a convincing victory over Scotland.
Tournament openers can be cagey affairs but Germany are gearing up to play front foot football this summer and it should not take them very long to expose a Scotland team which has struggled over the last nine months.
Scotland qualified as a solid runner-up to Spain in Group A but all of their five wins came from the first five games.
They went off the boil towards the end of the campaign and have generally struggled in recent friendlies, losing five on the bounce until an unconvincing 2-0 success over Gibraltar.
The Scots have won just two matches at European Championship finals and are set to be outclassed by Germany, who should rack up a few goals on the way to claiming maximum points
Classy Kai could make Scotland suffer
Germany have a lot of exciting attacking players including Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, who looks a solid 5/4 shot to score against Scotland.
Havertz has notched 16 goals at international level and eight of those have come inside the last two years.
He is looking comfortable in a Germany shirt and has settled in nicely at Arsenal where he notched 13 Premier League goals in his opening season for the club.
There should be more to come from the 24-year-old, who can expose the Scots with his clever movement and eye for a goal.
Combative Scots could run up a high card count
Scotland will aim to be as competitive as possible but several of their players have questionable disciplinary records and a handful of them could be cautioned in the opening game.
Midfielder John McGinn amassed ten Premier League cards for Aston Villa this season, including a costly dismissal in a 4-0 loss at home to Tottenham.
He will probably be joined in the Scottish engine room by Billy Gilmour, who topped Brighton’s top flight card count with eight yellows and one red, and Scott McTominay, who never shirks a physical exchange.
However, the likeliest card candidate could be Watford central defender Ryan Porteous, who was joint top of this season’s Championship caution statistics with 14 yellow cards.
There is potential for a number of Steve Clarke’s players to overstep the mark and punters can take advantage with a wager on over 2.5 Scotland cards at 9/5.
Visit Betway’s Euro 2024 betting page.