France might well be unbeaten in 22 matches but they didn’t impress me greatly against England and must be taken on at the prices on Friday.
Co-hosts and Group D leaders Ukraine are next up for Laurent Blanc’s side but they should be trading at bigger than the 2.10 on offer and I’ll be laying Les Bleus at those odds.
Having fallen behind to Joleon Lescott’s header on Monday, France thoroughly deserved Samir Nasri’s equaliser but overall looked short on ideas to me and this, of course, is effectively an away match.
Karim Benzema had been all the rage in the pre-tournament top goal scorer markets but the Real Madrid man looked frustrated at times in the 1-1 draw and France lacked structure going forward.
With Nasri, Franck Ribery and Florent Malouda in support, France undoubtedly possess match-winners but that trio hardly leave opponents quaking with fear and Ukraine must think they can get something in Donetsk.
Group D will surely be decided in the final round of fixtures, not much separates any of the four sides, but after their 2-1 win over Sweden Oleg Blokhin, the Ukraine manager, knows that victory over the 2000 European Champions would secure his team’s place in the knockout stage and there must be a chance they’ll achieve it.
Ukraine had struggled against what are no more than an average Sweden team but Andriy Shevchenko’s remarkable brace turned the game on it’s head after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had opened the scoring and one shouldn’t underestimate the momentum likely to be gained from the legend’s double.
The co-hosts will be supported magnificently once again by their passionate fans and while Ukraine might be better served urging on the side of caution, a draw would be more than an acceptable result, it is hard to not see them going for it against a defence which is hardly watertight.
Philippe Mexes and Adil Rami looked pretty cumbersome to me at the heart of the French backline and while Shevchenko doesn’t possess the pace of old, the Dynamo Kiev striker’s movement is likely to cause them problems.
I think there will be goals in this game, Euro 2012 has been refreshingly open, but it’s one in which Ukraine can gain at least a share of the spoils and France need to be opposed at a little over evens.
2pts Lay France (vs. Ukraine) @ 2.08 (World Bet Exchange)