Greece and Kazakhstan square off in the Euro 2024 playoff semi-finals as they continue their journey towards the tournament in June. Both teams caught the eye during the qualifiers but with Thursday’s clash being played in Athens, the Greeks could be backed to come out on top.
A third place finish in Group B of the qualifiers was enough to secure a playoff berth for Greece. Having been drawn against the likes of France, Netherlands and Republic of Ireland, they will be pleased with their record of four wins from eight matches.
There are few results that will give Greece confidence heading into Thursday’s clash. One of those is the 2-2 draw with France in their final Group B fixture as they led through Anastasios Bakasetas and Fotis Ioannidis before conceding the equaliser.
One thing that will be pleasing to manager Gustavo Poyet is that Thursday’s match will be played at OPAP Arena in Athens. Greece are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 home matches across all competitions, claiming six wins in that run.
Kazakhstan were one of the surprise teams during the qualifiers as they picked up six wins from 10 matches. They claimed a few scalps along the way, beating the likes of Denmark and Finland.
The Kazakhs ended their Group H campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Slovenia in their final fixture. However, they will head into Thursday’s match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Turkmenistan in a friendly.
The defeat to Slovenia highlights a slightly unconvincing record for Kazakhstan on their travels. They head to Athens with two defeats in their last three away matches in the qualifiers.
How the bookies view it
Greece are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 4/9 by Coral. A victory for Kazakhstan is valued at 9/1 by Paddy Power while a draw is set at odds of 7/2 by Unibet.
Head to head
Greece have won all three previous matches against Kazakhstan, although the last meeting was a friendly back in 2006 which ended in a 2-0 victory.
Players to watch
Fotis Ioannidis heads into Thursday’s match in good form and was on target in the draw with France. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime on Thursday at 15/8 with bet365.
Kazakhstan showed some attacking verve during the qualifiers, with Islam Chesnokov particularly impressive. The forward has three goals in his last three international appearances and is priced at 10/1 to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams often look sharp going forward and could be backed to score at 13/8 with Unibet. Greece saw over 2.5 goals in their previous fixture and a repeat is priced at 16/5 by Unibet, who is also offering odds of 23/20 for over 2.5 goals.
Greece are priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, so a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 8/5 with Betfred. There were more goals after the break last time out against France and a similar pattern is priced at 11/10 by bet365.
This Euro 2024 match between Greece and Kazakhstan will be played on Mar 21, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Greece vs Kazakhstan prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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