Group A (Price to win group)
Great Britain u23 - +110
Uruguay u23 - +110
UAE u23 +2500
Senegal u23 +900
For me group A is the toughest to pick a winner and the outright prices show that, with both GB and Uruguay priced the same, Both these teams will qualify, i am 100% sure of that , If we have to break down the teams i would have to say i see the advantage in attack going to Uruguay , Suarez and Cavani are 2 amazing strikers and both have been in amazing form for their top European clubs , they will cause teams a huge amount of problems . The Midfield battle goes to Great Britain , Giggs , Ramsey and Sinclair are all key figures at their clubs and everyone of them can be a game winner , they will create a bunch of chances for the attackers and also give GB speed down the wings , Defensively i see these 2 teams being pretty much equal , both have a young defense , i give the advantage to GB just slightly because of Mica Richards , The Man City defender has experience on the big stage and that will be key.
Lets also not forget that Great Britain will have home advantage .
Winner : Great Britain
Second: Uruguay
Its a very very close call so i would not bet to much either way.
Group B
Switzerland u23 +110
Mexico u23 + 160
South Korea u23 +550
Gabon u23 +800
The Bookies have Switzerland as favorite here and i am not really sure why , I do think group B will be another 2 horse race , I see Mexico and Switzerland qualifying , Whilst S Korea are an outside chance i really cant see them causing an upset .
The reason i cant see why Switzerland are favorites to win the group is simply because of the teams , when you compare the teams i see Mexico having a far more solid team , Switzerland have a better Midfield pairing of Frei and Behrami , Behrami has the quality and experience and i have watched Frei play a few times and the guy is fantastic , i really cant understand how he is not playing for a top European club .
I give the attacking and defensive edge to Mexico though , in attack they have Dos Santos who plays for Tottenham and used to play for Barcelona , and Peralta who is one of there 3 overage picks and who has scored 28 goals for his club side this season ,Both players will have the big match temperament which will be key , Defensively Mexico look a lot more experienced and solid , they have chosen 2 of there 3 overage players at the back and this will give them stability and a slight edge in defense .
I think Mexico at +160 is great value to win the group.
Winner : Mexico
Second: Switzerland
Group C
Brazil u23, -600
Egypt u23 +1000
Belarus u23 +1000
New Zealand +1400
Well this is going to be short and sweet , Brazil have already won this group , and yes i know , "Lock" is a terrible word on covers , but if there ever was a lock it is that Brazil will win this group .There team is ridiculously talented , players like - Neymar ,Hulk ,Pato,Oscar ,Marcelo ,Silva , Ganso , this team is beyond good .The price is better than it should be but still not worth taking on its own , adding it to a parlay would be the best bet.
To pick second place is really tough i think any of the 3 remaining teams can take it , i will wait to see what the price is for them to qualify before i make a pick.
Winner :Brazil
Second :TBA
Group D
Spain u23 , -400
Japan u23 +600
Morocco u23 +900
Honduras u23 +1600
Group D for me is another group that has already been won , Spain should sail through this group easily and again the price reflects that , Spain also have a team of current and future superstars , players like Tello , Mata , Alba ,Alcantara , Cuenca , to name a few. Most of there players already play for top Spanish and European sides and feature in the first team , So they will have the experience and the temperament and this is key especially for younger players . Again i would look to take Spain as part of a parlay as the price alone is not great .
For second place in this group i would have to pick Japan , whilst i admit i dont really know much about the players in the 3 remaining teams i do know how far Japan has come in Football over the last 10 years , their J league has become Asia's top football league and they are becoming more and more of a world force in football all the time , I think they will show that this Olympics and might even cause an upset in the knockouts .
Winner : Spain
Second: Japan
Run out of space so will finish the post on a new page , please wait till i have finished before posting