Poland vs. Slovakia Predictions: Lewandowski to hit the back of the net

When the best striker enters a major tournament in fine form - expect him to do well. Neil Monnery takes that mantra into his preview of Poland v Slovakia...

Location: St. Petersburg, Russia

Date: Monday, June 14.

Kick Off Time: 12PM ET

TV: ESPN

The opening game in Group E sees the best striker in the world on current form take their bow. Cristiano Ronaldo is a wonderful player and has been for many years. We all lax lyrical about the talent of Lionel Messi at Barcelona but what Robert Lewandowski has been doing in recent times for Bayern Munich has been nothing short of otherworldly.

41 goals in 28 starts for his club in the Bundesliga this season. Let me just repeat that so it sinks in. 41 goals in 28 starts. Due to time off the field as a substitute - that works out as 1.5 goals scored every 90 minutes. That is just crazy and you wouldn’t expect those types of numbers in FIFA or Football Manager let alone in real life. So suffice to say Poland have quite the weapon in the form of their star man.

Poland aren’t just a one-man team however and their qualifying record of 18 goals for and just five against indicates that they defend well along with score enough goals. Mateusz Klich had a wonderful season with Leeds in the EPL. The midfielder has a tremendous engine and is a genuine box to box player who can track runners and create chances along with chip in with goals.

Slovakia squeaked into Euro 2020 by defeating Northern Ireland in a play-off 1-2 after extra time. In the first-round of the two-rounds of play-offs they took out Northern Ireland’s neighbors to the south on penalties. So it wasn’t like they flew through.

Marek Hamsik has been an outstanding player throughout his career but at 35, his best days are behind him and he’s hardly played this season following a strange move to China. They can rely on Martin Dubravka in goal who has endured a tough but personally rewarding season for Newcastle United in the EPL.

Picks: I do like Poland in this game and at -120 - that is a fair price. They are simply a better team than Slovakia.

Getting Robert Lewondowski to score at any time at odds against is a shock but with Unibet, 888sport and SugarHouse all offering +106 at the time of writing - I’d happily put down $10 or $20 on that.