Germany v Scotland: Both sides to net in curtain raiser

• Germany have struggled since 2014 World Cup triumph

• Clarke has led Scotland to back-to-back Euros

• BTTS a value play at odds-against

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Betfair Superboost

Host nation Germany take on Scotland in the curtain raiser of Euro 2024 and Betfair have picked out a German stead led Superboost for day one.

Many of us are expecting the hosts to dominate against the Scots, though we know Steve Clarke's side will put up a huge fight and love the thought of the underdogs tag. Germany should dominate the ball, so lets hope that territory turns into corners.

It is 1/21.50 for Germany to have 6 or more corners against Scotland, but that has been boosted up to 1/12.00 on the Sportsbook! Since Julian Nagelsmann took charge of the national team, his Germany side have racked up 51 corners across eight matches, at an average of 6.4 per game.

Indeed, across their last three games heading into the tournament, Germany have amassed 30 corners, including six in each, and at least 10 in their last two. They had 13 v Greece, 11 v Ukraine and six v Netherlands.

Back the Superboost here!

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Germany v Scotland
Friday 14 June, 20:00
Live on ITV 1

Hosts still have more questions than answers

There is a famous quote from former England striker Gary Lineker that states "football is a simple game - twenty-two men chase a ball around for 90 minutes, and at the end the Germans always win." However, since winning the World Cup a decade ago, Die Mannschaft have done plenty to disprove Lineker's theory.

Germany reached the semi-finals at Euro 2016, but they suffered a disastrous group-stage exit at the World Cup in Russia. At the last Euros, they gave co-hosts England a scare at Wembley before losing in the last 16, and at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar they blew a ton of chances as they suffered another ignominious group-stage exit.

Julian Nagelsmann has made some encouraging moves since replacing Hansi Flick as coach, and March's wins over France and the Netherlands represented serious steps in the right direction. Rising stars Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz excelled in attacking midfield roles, the return of Toni Kroos as a midfield conductor gave the team much-needed control and class, and Kai Havertz looked sharp as a floating centre-forward.

However, there are big puzzles to solve. The back four hasn't played much together as a unit, and they have some scary moments playing out from the back. Behind them, Manuel Neuer has made a number of high-profile errors for club and country of late, although Nagelsmann insists the 38-year-old remains his first-choice goalkeeper. There are also questions about the position of captain Ilkay Gundogan, and whether he's a good fit for what Nagelsmann is trying to do.

There aren't expected to be any surprises in Germany's XI on Friday night, but Nagelsmann has called up the experienced Emre Can as a replacement for Bayern Munich tyro Aleksandar Pavlovic, who has been ruled out of the tournament with tonsilitis.

Clarke and company out to make history

Our friends at Opta tell us that Steve Clarke is the first coach to lead Scotland to back-to-back European Championship finals. Now he'll look to do something else unprecedented, and that's to lead his country out of the group phase of a major tournament. Scotland had some impressive highs in qualifying - they beat Spain at Hampden Park and scored two late goals in a dramatic comeback win in Norway - but they have only won one of their last nine games.

The loss of burly striker Lyndon Dykes to injury was a major blow, and there's now even more pressure on the likes of Scott McTominay and John McGinn to deliver goals from midfield. Manchester United's McTominay scored seven goals in qualifying, while McGinn scored 11 goals for club and country this season.

Uefa European Championship Qualifiers - Top 10 Goalscorers

It's not just scoring goals which could be a problem for Scotland. Across their last nine internationals, they have leaked 21 goals, and their only clean sheet was against minnows Gibraltar. There are some concerns about the defensive personnel - Ryan Porteous turns out at second-tier level for Watford, Jack Hendry has been playing in Saudi Arabia, and Scott McKenna lost his place at Nottingham Forest, and has since switched to Danish giants Copenhagen.

Skipper and star player Andy Robertson had an injury scare in training, but has recovered, while striker Lawrence Shankland has also shaken off a knock.

Scots can make mark in Munich

Germany are still a volatile and unpredictable package, so I'm not excited by backing them to win at 1.330/100. The bet I do like the look of is backing Both Teams To Score at a hefty 2.3411/8. The Opta stats show that Germany have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 12 games at major tournaments, and this Germany side has managed just two shutouts in the last 14 internationals.

Germany certainly have the firepower to score (Havertz scored 13 PL goals for Arsenal this season, Wirtz got 11 Bundesliga goals for Bayer Leverkusen and Musiala netted 10 league goals for Bayern), but Scotland will have their moments in attack. Clarke's side have scored in 12 of their last 15 games.

Shots and fouls the key to Bet Builder

A Kai Havertz foul is always a reliable way to start a Bet Builder in the Premier League (he committed 49 fouls in the top flight, the joint-16th highest in the division), and this should be no different, as he leads the line for his country.

I'll also back Jamal Musiala to have at least two shots. In the Bundesliga this season he averaged 2.97 shots per 90, and at the World Cup in Qatar, that average was a startling 4.19.

Finally, to give us a combined price of 2.526/4 on the Bet Builder, I'll back John McGinn to have at least two shots. In qualifying he averaged 2.09 shots per 90, and at the last Euros, his average was 2.33.

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