Rio Ferdinand Favored to Lead England

Rio Ferdinand has been favored to take over the England captaincy for Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro after Steven Gerrard appeared to be on the outer with captain Fabio Capello.

Ferdinand is a 1/6 favorite with William Hill to be given the honor, while Gerrard is back at 7/2.

England is 2/9 to continue the good form that saw it win its first two qualifiers, while Montenegro is 7/2 and the draw is paying 9/1.

Meanwhile, a total of 23 qualifiers are set to be played this Friday and Saturday nights as former powerhouses Portugal and France try to get their qualifying campaigns back on track.

Euro 2004 runner-up Portugal, with just one draw to its name from three matches, faces a tough task at home against Group H's second-placed team Denmark. Portugal is currently a 4/7 William Hill favorite, ahead of Denmark, which represents good value at 4/1.

France, a point behind minnows Albania and Belarus in Group D, also begins its home match against Romania as a firm favorite. France is 8/15, Romania is 9/2, and the draw is paying 5/2.

In perhaps the most difficult match to predict in this round of matches, Group F's top two teams Croatia and Israel clash in Tel Aviv. Host Israel is a slight underdog at 7/4, behind Croatia, 5/4. The draw represents relatively good value at 11/5.