Fri June 8th: After a stunning season domestically and in the Champions League with Bayern Munich, Mario Gomez is Ladbrokes’ 8/1 favourite to be the Euro 2012 top scorer but the German striker has yet to fire at a major tournament and those fancying a member of Joachim Low’s squad to plunder the most goals would possibly be better served speculating on a couple of Gomez’s colleagues.
Lazio’s Miroslav Klose has always produced at international level, especially in competitions and is available at significantly higher odds of 16/1 via Paddy Power while William Hill chalk an enticing 25/1 against Arsenal-bound Lukas Podolski, who is also a consistent performer for club and country.
Closely following Gomez in the betting is another man that has been in exceptional form this term, the Gunners’ Robin van Persie. The Dutch front man is a 10/1 shot with bet365 to land the Golden Boot but as is the case in the German side, it’s his team mate that potentially represents better value. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar helped himself to a hatful of goals in qualifying for the Netherlands and looks slightly overpriced at 18/1 (Paddy Power).
Fernando Torres was on target in Spain’s victory over South Korea and as his team are the tournament favourites, he might prove popular at 18/1 courtesy of Boylesports although Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente is considered the best Spanish hope, BetVictor pricing him at 16/1.
At a slightly shorter 14/1 with Stan James is Cristiano Ronaldo but he could be undone by the difficulty his Portugal side will have in progressing from the ‘group of death’, which they share with the Germans and the Dutch.
France could be one of the competition’s dark horses and on that basis Karim Benzema has a decent chance of topping the scoring charts. The Real Madrid forward enjoyed an excellent campaign with his club but the only sticking point is that his odds have tumbled recently from 25/1 to the current quote of 16/1 (Betfred).
Elsewhere, Robert Lewandowski is the main man for hosts Poland after he shone for Borussia Dortmund this term but it’s a big ask for Coral’s 25/1 chance to bag the most goals, Stan James rate maverick Man City man Mario Balotelli at 28/1 and from an England perspective, Skybet make Wayne Rooney as high as 33/1 because of his absence from the opening two matches. Nevertheless, it’s hard to see past German pair Klose and Podolski.
Recommended Bets:
Karim Benzema to be top scorer – 16/1 (Betfred)
Miroslav Klose to be top scorer – 16/1 (Paddy Power)
Lukas Podolski to be top scorer – 25/1 (William Hill)
Compare all Euro 2012 odds and bet at the best price.
