Denmark v Portugal: Underdogs could all but secure qualification

After shocking fans and pundits alike with a victory over Holland in their opening Euro 2012 game, some will be surprised to see Denmark as 14/5 underdogs to beat Portugal on Wednesday.

Denmark have won three of the past five meetings between the sides, which may deter punters from backing Portugal at 21/20, as they enter the game on the back of a narrow defeat to Germany at the weekend.

Punters finding it difficult to separate the sides can alternatively back the draw, which is a 23/10 shot, and most recently occurred when the teams met in a World Cup qualifier in 2009.

With Denmark winning their first match of the tournament 1-0, and Portugal losing by the same scoreline, some will be tempted to back a Danish 1-0 win at 8/1 on Wednesday.

However, it should be noted that both teams have scored the last eight times they have played each other, so this fact could act as a deterrent for punters thinking of backing a Denmark clean sheet at 5/2, or a Portuguese one at 6/4.

There is the opportunity to bet on the result in a match where both teams score though, as Denmark are afforded a 13/2 price to come out on top, and Portugal are 7/2 to do the same, with the score draw a 10/3 chance.

Alternatively, some may opt to bet on the outcome of a game featuring a certain amount of goals.

Denmark are 7/4 to win a game featuring two or less goals, and as they average two strikes per match in their last six against Portugal, this looks worthy of attention.

That said, Portugal boast arguably the finest player at the tournament in Cristiano Ronaldo, who could tilt the game in his nation’s favour.

The Real Madrid superstar is 9/2 favourite to open the scoring on Wednesday, whilst the focal point of Denmark’s attack, Nicklas Bendtner, is an 8/1 hope.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.