The group of death kicks-off with a match between title contenders Netherlands and dark horses Denmark and I have no doubts the game in Kharkiv will be one of the true Euro 2012 classics.

Oranje have once again been extremely convincing in the qualifying campaign, wining all the games except for the final qualifier in Sweden that had no effect on the final standings.

Nonetheless, the team have not been as impressive in the build up to the tournament finals, having lost to Germany and Bulgaria, although comfortable victories over Slovakia and Northern Ireland did help the players restore some of the lost confidence.

Even so, the atmosphere in the team is far from perfect, with world-class players such as Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Rafael van der Vaart and Dirk Kuyt far from happy with the substitute role given to them by coach Bert van Marwijk.

The problems continued to mount when it was revealed that Joris Mathijsen would not recover in time for team’s opening game of the tournament, meaning Feyenoord captain Ron Vlaar will get a chance to shine.

In spite of all their worries, Oranje remain odds-on favourites to win their first game at the tournament, with 188BET paying 1.60 (3/5) on home win.

In the absence of Klaas Jan Huntelaar, it is Robin van Persie that will be the focal point of Netherlands’ attack and the Arsenal man is 2.10 (11/10) with Ladbrokes to score anytime.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Stekelenburg – Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Vlaar, Willems – De Jong, Van Bommel – Robben, Sneijder, Afellay – Van Persie.

Denmark produced quite a coup by winning the group that also contained the likes of Portugal, Norway, Iceland and Cyprus, but they were very unfortunate to be drawn alongside three title contenders at the tournament finals.

Nonetheless, Morten Olsen’s side are definitely not here only to make the numbers and I am pretty sure this match will prove that.

The experienced boss opted to test his side against some very strong opponents in warm-up games, which led to defeats to Russia and Brazil, but also to victories over Sweden, Finland and Australia in their final test.

The Danes suffered a major blow in their preparations for the Euro 2012 as first choice keeper Thomas Sorensen had to withdraw because of injury, while Leicester goalie Kasper Schmeichel was called as a replacement.

As a result, Evian keeper Stephan Andersen will start in goal against the Netherlands as he was preferred to Manchester United hotshot Anders Lindegaard.

The interesting thing is that team captain Christian Poulsen, former Liverpool midfielder, is no longer a part of the starting line-up, but he is expected to play some part in this game.

Denmark are seen as major underdogs in this match, but I am pretty sure they will put up a good fight, and odds of 2.45 (29/20) offered by Bodog on Netherlands not to win do look tempting.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Andersen – Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, S. Poulsen – Zimling, Kvist – Rommedahl, Eriksen, Krohn-Dehli – Bendtner.