Women's Euros Tips: Germany and Spain look vulnerable

Germany v Denmark
Saturday, 19:45
Live on Channel 4 and British Eurosport 2

This has been the most competitive Women's Euros ever and really something to behold. Gone are the days of Germany steamrollering teams and looking like certain winners, and even though the Germans have a habit of improving throughout tournaments and finding a way to win them, they have their hands full here.

The Germans come into this quarter-final having won two of their three games, but have scored only one goal from open play. They've required three penalties to get the job done, and their lack of a goal-scorer anywhere near the calibre of Birgit Prinzhas been all too evident.

There's still a chance that Mandy Islacker will catch fire in the knockout stages, as she's talented and has been a bit unfortunate so far, but with the captain Dzenifer Maroszan playing too deep and not affecting play, there's a real lack of creativity.

Denmark have looked really good so far and were unfortunate in their only defeat of the competition against The Netherlands. They gave us the bet of the tournament so far in their final Group game against Norway, and I'm keen to support them once more against an unconvincing Germany.

There's a strong argument to say that Pernille Harder has been the player of Euro 2017 so far and I think that she could torment the German backline and take the Danes to a famous win at a big price. Germany are short though for the 90-minute win, and so laying them, and keeping a few other eventualities onside, would seem the intelligent play.

Recommended Bet
Lay Germany against Denmark @ 1.50

Austria v Spain
Sunday, 17:00
Live on More4 and British Eurosport

I'm keen to take on another favourite in the shape of Spain as they play the team of the tournament so far, Austria. Dominik Thalhammer has done an incredible job with the Austrian team, and turned them into a nightmare for opposition players.

They'll hassle and harry, they're scared of no-one, and in Laura Feiersinger and Nina Burger they too have a couple of outstanding performers. Thalhammer's team exposed the French in their 1-1 draw, and they're capable of doing something similar against another side that likes to play a possession-based game.

Spain come into this after losing to Scotland, and while they'll make a better fist of this quarter final than they did of that concluding Group game, they've shown that they're vulnerable to a team that uses energy, work-rate and tactical nous to combat their lack of an individual star.

The point is that Austria are far better at implementing that style than Scotland and so I expect them to cause even more problems than Anna Signeul's side. Backing Austria to win in 90 minutes is tempting, but let's adopt the same tactics as with the Denmark v Germany game, and keep a few outcomes on our side.

Recommended Bet
Lay Spain against Austria @ 2.00