Saturday sees the first full day of Euro 2020 action with three pool fixtures across the continent, following up the opening night meeting between Italy and Turkey in Rome.
Gareth Bale sets out to inspire Wales against Switzerland in Group A, while star-studded Belgium open their Group B account against Russia.
In between it’s all eyes on Copenhagen as Denmark and Finland contest a northern derby.
Group A: Wales vs Switzerland
The Group A action continues on Saturday at Euro 2020 as Wales and Switzerland join the party with their opening fixture in Baku.
It’s a return to the European Championships for the Welsh, who caught the eye in fine style in their maiden appearance five years ago, going all the way to the semi-finals in France.
The Swiss reached the last 16 in 2016, having failed to break through the group stage in any of their three previous appearances.
Gareth Bale has plenty on his shoulders as he leads the line for his country, who squeaked through qualifying behind World Cup runners-up Croatia.
He can expect to have quality behind him in the midfield in the shape of Juventus and ex-Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey.
Their opponents have plenty of experience including the likes of English Premier League duo Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.
They advanced to the showpiece after finishing top of qualifying Group D.
Probable Wales Starting XI: Danny Ward, Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies, Connor Roberts, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Morrell, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Gareth Bale, Harry Wilson, Daniel James.
Probable Switzerland Starting XI: Yann Sommer, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Fabian Schar, Kevin Mbabu, Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Ricardo Rodriguez, Xherdan Shaqiri, Mario Gavranovic, Haris Seferovic.
Group B: Denmark vs Finland
It’s a northern affair to kick off Group B of Euro 2020 as Denmark and Finland collide in Copenhagen.
The pair meet at the iconic Parken Stadium, as the champions of 1992 play host to a side taking its place on the big stage for the first time.
A strong qualifying campaign saw the Danes go unbeaten on their way to a second-placed finish in Group D behind Switzerland, squeezing out the Republic of Ireland.
The Fins, meanwhile, bested both Greece and Bosnia & Herzegovina to finish runners-up to heavyweights Italy in Group J, winning six games along the way.
Teemu Pukki, who will resume his cult hero status in the English Premier League next season with promoted Norwich, will lead the line for the Eagle Owls.
He and his underdog team-mates will have to break through a Danish spine packed with top level experience, not least keeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen should line up in front of him, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg supports Christian Eriksen in the engine room.
Probable Denmark Starting XI: Kasper Schmeichel, Daniel Wass, Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjaer, Joakim Maehle, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Thomas Delaney, Yussuf Poulsen, Christian Eriksen, Martin Braithwaite, Jonas Wind.
Probable Finland Starting XI: Lukas Hradecky, Paulus Arajuuri, Joona Toivio, Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Nikolai Alho, Glen Kamara, Tim Sparv, Joni Kauko, Jere Uronen, Teemu Pukki, Robin Lod.
Group B: Belgium vs Russia
Euro 2020 goes up a gear on Saturday night with the entrance of one of the bookies’ favourites for the competition, as Belgium go up against Russia.
Talk of a ‘golden generation’ has become old hat with the Red Devils having often failed to match the sum of their parts on the tournament stage in successive World Cups and European Championships.
But perhaps the time is now, off the back of a third-placed finish at the 2018 World Cup and a perfect, ten-out-of-ten record in qualifying under coach Roberto Martinez.
Lurking behind them in second place in Group I were their opening opponents, who will have a degree of home advantage in a reduced-capacity St Petersburg stadium.
The Belgians made the quarter-finals in France five years ago, having finished runners-up in Italy in 1980, back in the days when only eight nations contested the continental showpiece.
A breezy run to the 2008 semi-finals is the high watermark for their opposition, since their powerhouse days as the Soviet Union.
Gone are most of the biggest star names for coach Stanislav Cherchesov, although he does retain the improbable presence of Yuri Zhirkov, who at 37-years-old is turning out in his fifth major tournament.
Martinez has an embarrassment of riches, spearheaded by Inter Milan’s talisman Romelu Lukaku.
He’s backed up by one of the best players on the planet in Kevin de Bruyne, once he’s fully recovered from facial surgery after a nasty collision in the Uefa Champions League final.
Eden Hazard has endured an injury-ravaged domestic season with Real Madrid, so will need to be nursed through the summer.
Probable Belgium Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois, Toby Alderweireld, Jason Denayer, Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Meunier, Youri Tielemans, Leander Dendoncker, Yannick Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard, Dries Mertens, Romelu Lukaku.
Probable Russia Starting XI: Anton Shunin, Andrey Semenov, Georgi Dzhikiya, Fedor Kudryashov, Vyacheslav Karavaev, Roman Zobnin, Magomed Ozdoev, Daler Kuzyaev, Aleksey Miranchuk, Aleksandr Golovin, Artem Dzyuba.
Euro 2020 predictions for 12 June
Prediction methodology explained:?The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
