Poland U21 v Slovakia U21 : under 2.5 goals

Poland U21 v Slovakia U21
Friday 16th June, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports Mix

Friday night's second Group A game features hosts Poland 2.12 who haven't played a competitive match at this level for two years and make their first appearance at this tournament since 1994 against dark horses Slovakia.

Four of Poland's squad boast senior international caps including underused Leicester winger Bartosz Kapustka. But Karol Linetty is the star in the White Eagles' squad following an impressive debut season in Serie A with Sampdoria. The 22 year-old will run the show from midfield in what's likely to be a 4-2-3-1 approach.

Elsewhere, powerful holding midfielder or central defender Krystian Bielik joined Arsenal for £2.7m in January 2015 is expected to be given an opportunity whilst Lech Poznan striker Dawid Kownacki also deserves a mention.

Kownacki broke into Poznan's first team at the age of 16 and has since gone on to win the Ekstraklasa, as well as the Polish SuperCup twice, scoring 27 goals in the process. Comparisons have been made between the 20-year-old and Poland's first-choice striker Robert Lewandowski.

Poland's strength is hard to measure with no recent competitive form to analyse but Slovakia 3.80 certainly do and it's most impressive. Head coach Pavel Hapal fielded a largely settled side as his charges impressively topped a qualifying group including Netherlands and Turkey.

Eleven of the squad have played for the senior side and 19 year-old Laszlo Benes has already earned the reputation as Slovakia's 'new Marek Hamsik'. The Borussia Monchengladbach man is a versatile and energetic midfielder who has a lethal eye for a pass.

Elsewhere, Milan Skriniar has senior experience and was a regular for Sampdoria last season, while clinical forward Adam Zrel'ak scored 10 times in qualifying.

Slovakia finished fourth as hosts in 2000 and are desperate to make a mark on this summer's edition and they might well upset the odds along the way. I want to keep the underdogs onside for the opener and 2.78 in the Draw No Bet market seems more than fair.

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