France vs Romania Betting Tips & Predictions

France will want to kickstart their home Euro 2016 campaign off in style on Friday, but they will also want to keep it tight at the back after their poor showing against Cameroon.

They went a goal up 20 minutes into their match against Cameroon but looked lapse at the back, and when Cameroon made it 2-2 two minutes before the 90 minute mark it looked like it would be a shock failure to win for this talented French side. Dimitri Payet stepped up with a trademark free kick to win the game in the last minute though, but it was a close call for a side who should have been hammering the visiting Cameroon.

They have won eight of their last nine matches though, with only a 2-0 defeat at Wembley marring their record, and have scored an impressive number of goals during this run. They have netted 21 times and conceded ten, so they certainly have a preference towards high scoring matches.

However, Romania are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Their 3-4 defeat to Ukraine aside, they are a very defensively sound side. They had a very poor 20 minute spell against Ukraine where they conceded all their goals, but prior to that they had conceded just four times in their previous ten outings.

They do struggle at the other end of the pitch though, which means that despite all their defensive and tactical strengths they still struggle to win matches. They have won just two of their last ten games, drawing seven and losing once.

I would expect France to be focused on just getting that first win under their belts on Friday. They know that a poor result in the first match would have the crowd turn on them instantly and put their tournament chances in extreme jeopardy. Romania will set up with their usual defensive stance and prove hard to break down, but the French have the quality to eventually get through their back line.

With the group stages being just three matches long we know that goal difference can play a major part in 2nd and 3rd place finishers, and for that reason I wouldn’t expect Romania to risk too much at the back even if they go behind as well, and considering eight of their last 11 matches have had fewer than three goals I think this could be a low scoring affair.

Half of France’s last ten games have seen fewer than three goals as well, but I do expect them to get a win on Friday. This makes odds of 29/20 for a France Win and Under 2.5 Goals look excellent value to me, and I’m backing that along with a 2-0 win for the hosts at 4/1.