Seeking a fourth European Under-21s Championship title, Germany get their latest quest for glory underway when they face Slovenia on Thursday night.
The Germans suffered a shock early exit at the group stage two years ago, collecting just one point from their three pool fixtures.
However, Antonio Di Salvo’s side have bounced back from that setback in eye-catching fashion, avoiding defeat during qualification with an impressive return of eight wins from their 10 matches.
Germany’s momentum has not gone unnoticed, with the bookmakers installing them as joint 4/1 favourites to lift the trophy.
As for Slovenia, they are seen as the underdogs in Group B, where they will also come up against the Czech Republic and England.
However, Andrej Razdrh’s side have proven a tough nut to crack recently, losing just one of their eight matches during the preliminary stages for this year's competition.
How the bookies view it: Germany to get the job done
After winning eight of their 10 matches during qualification, Germany are understandably firm 2/5 favourites on Boylesports. Given that Slovenia rarely see themselves on the end of heavy defeats, pairing up a Germany win alongside Under 4.5 Goals could represent some decent value at 10/11 (Boylesports).
As for Slovenia, they are as big as 9/2 with Boylesports to spring a shock on Thursday night, while a share of the spoils is an unfancied 7/2 with the same bookmaker.
Head to head: A first competitive clash
Germany and Slovenia will square off in a competitive contest for the first time ever on Thursday night. Each of the previous two meetings were friendly fixtures, with Germany claiming a 3-0 win in 2009 before the duo played out a 1-1 draw back in 2020.
Players to watch: Nick to net?
Nick Woltemade racked up an impressive 17 goals across his 33 appearances for VfB Stuttgart in all competitions this season. The rising German star also hit four goals across his eight appearances for his country during qualification, making him an appealing anytime goalscorer option at 13/10 on PaddyPower.
Tio Cipot was Slovenia’s standout performer during the preliminary stages, hitting six goals across his eight appearances. The 22-year-old can be backed at 3/1 (PaddyPower) for an anytime strike on Thursday night.
Predicted line-ups
With this fixture representing the two teams opening match of the tournament, both managers look set to have a fully fit squad to choose from on Thursday night.
Germany: Urbig; Rothe, Arrey-Mbi, Oermann,;Thielmann, Nebel, Martel, Reitz; Woltemade, Knuaff, Tresoldi
Slovenia: Turk; Kuzmic, Ratnik, Ristic, Ilenic; Cipot, Zeljkovic, Brest, Ostrc, Gradisar; Seslar
Anything else catch the eye?
Slovenia are a stubborn outfit and they could batten down the hatches to keep this contest competitive.
With that in mind, the 4/5 on Bet 365 for this match to feature between one and three goals looks well worthy of support.
This selection would have proven profitable in no fewer than seven of Slovenia’s eight matches during qualification.
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