Prediction: Germany vs Hungary

Verdict: Germany/Germany

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker: bet365

Germany will be looking to erase the memory of a 3-1 loss to Slovakia when they host Hungary at Veltins Arena in their final warm-up game for the Euro 2016 finals. Foci, on the other hand, opted against playing at the weekend and they arrive in Gelsenkirchen hoping to build on the goalless draw with Ivory Coast.

Germany

Following several narrow misses, Germany finally secured a major trophy as they won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but it has not been smooth sailing since. Several top players decided to retire from international football after said success, and some of them have proved quite difficult to replace. Even if they ended up winning what was a difficult group, Die Mannschaft were far from impressive in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, and they have since continued to struggle. Germany went on to lose three of four warm-up games since the qualifying campaign ended, conceding no fewer than nine goals in the process, with Joachim Low’s experiments with three-man back line coming back to haunt him. The 3-1 home defeat to Slovakia should be enough to persuade the head coach never to play three at the back again, and we definitely expect to see some improvement in the Hungary clash. Low announced his final Euro 2016 squad after the match in Augsburg, and he was forced to leave star player Marco Reus out of the side due to an adductor injury, but captain Bastian Schweinsteiger was included despite not being fully fit.

Team News

In addition to Reus, Sebastian Rudy, Julian Brandt and Karim Bellarabi were also dropped form the provisional squad, but youngsters Leroy Sane, Joshua Kimmich and Julian Weigl survived the cut.

Bastian Schweinsteiger is unlikely to feature against Hungary, while Sami Khedira is an injury doubt and Toni Kroos returns after lifting the Champions League trophy.

Hungary

The time when Hungary dominated world football seems like a distant past now that the national team largely struggle to match Europe’s top sides. Foci have failed to qualify for seven successive World Cup finals and another ten European Championships, before the current generation finally ended the barren run by booking their ticket to France. It has to be noted though that Hungary had a big smile from Lady Luck as they were placed in arguably the weakest group, before being pitted against average Norway side, so we don’t feel they deserve to be playing at the highest level. Since the qualifying campaign ended, Foci have shared spoils with Croatia and Ivory Coast in the first two warm-up games, but they will have much bigger fish to fry at Veltins Arena, and this is clearly not the best moment to be facing wounded Germany, who will be desperate to make amends for the Slovakia setback. Hungary did record three wins in last five matches on the road, but they conceded no fewer than 8 goals last time they faced a top side away from home, and while such a heavy defeat can be ruled out, chances are they won’t be able to match star-studded Germany on Saturday.

Team News

Daniel Tozser, Adam Gyurcso and Adam Bogdan are some of the high-profile footballers to have missed out on the final Hungary Euro 2016 squad, with uncapped Barnabas Bese the only real surprise on the list.

Akos Elek, Adam Lang, Krisztian Nemeth and Balazs Dzsudzsak have all had some problems with injury, but they should all be in contention.

Key Factors to Consider

• Germany won three of five matches vs Hungary (L2)
• Said five games produced 28 goals in total
• Die Mannschaft lost two of last three home fixtures
• Hungary scored in seven consecutive away games
• Both teams scored in Germany’s last seven home matches

Conclusion

After experimenting with his starting line-up against Slovakia, Joachim Low is expected to name his strongest side for the Hungary game, and we will definitely see the difference. Foci do not seem capable of matching Europe’s top sides at the moment, and they could be in for a heavy defeat.

Verdict: Germany/Germany

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker: bet365