Odds Favorites Keep Falling at Euro 2008

Italy would be quietly relishing the role of underdog coming into tonight's Euro 2008 quarter-final with Spain, with the lower-ranked sides having already won in each of the three previous quarter-finals in this tournament.

With Portugal losing 3-2 to Germany, Croatia going down on penalties to Turkey, and Holland falling 3-1 in extra-time to Russia in the biggest boil-over of the competition, the Spanish will be hoping the hoodoo doesn't affect them.

Also working against the Spanish is their own history of early exits at major tournaments. Despite being considered one of the powerhouses of European football, Spain's national team, known to its fans as la roja (the red one), has not made it past the quarter-final stage at a major competition since losing 2-0 to France in the final of the 1984 European Championships.  Also important is the fact that it has been 88 years since Spain last beat Italy in a match for official points.

Having said all that, Spain's form in this tournament has been far more impressive than that of their Italian opponents.  La roja qualified in first place in Group D, defeating Russia, Sweden and Greece.  The Azzurri  (The Blues) finished second in Group C, recovering from a first-up thrashing by Holland to draw with Romania and defeat arch-rivals France.

Sportingbet UK is offering 7/5 odds for a Spanish victory against Italy's 39/20. Similarly, Ladbrokes has Spain at 6/4 and Italy at a straight 2/1.

Spanish strike pair David Villa and Fernando Torres lead the field in man of the match betting, with Sportingbet quoting both of them at 19/4.

Other interesting areas of betting include predicting whether the woodwork will be hit during the match.  The odds suggest yes (3/4).

The winner of tonight's match will face Russia in the semi-finals on Thursday.  Germany plays Turkey in the other semi on Wednesday.