Germany winger Thomas Müller. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reigning World Cup champions Germany is projected to have an easy time against Group B third-placers Slovakia as the two teams face one another in the round-of-16 phase of the 2016 UEFA European Championship. Their match is set at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq this Sunday, June 26.
Germany is one of the favorites to win the whole tournament and so Slovakia will be in for a hard time pulling off an upset over FIFA's world fourth-ranked national squad. The Germans are looking as formidable as ever, especially on defense, as they had not conceded a single goal in the three-round group stage competitions and they hope to bring the same intensity in these knockout games.
The Nationalelf are coming off a surprisingly close 1-0 decision over Northern Ireland in their last match in Group C held at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday, as per Daily Mail Online.
Besiktas striker Mario Gomez scored the game's lone goal at the 29th minute from an assist by Bayern Munich winger Thomas Müller to pull off their third straight clean sheet and finish the group stage unbeaten.
Meanwhile, Slovakia struggled to advance out of Group with England and Wales dominating the bracket.
The team managed to finish third in the group after holding the Three Lions to a 0-0 draw in their third round meeting held at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on Monday, Sports Mole reported.
With the draw and four points under their name courtesy of their 2-1 win over Russia, head coach Jan Kozak's boys came out on top in the ranking of third-placed teams to qualify in the last 16.
While Germany is the odds-on favorite to prevail in this match, it should be noted that Slovakia beat them in their most recent encounter, a 3-1 friendly match before the tournament. Manager Joachim Löw's offense is also struggling at the moment as only one of DFB-Elf's 44 shots in the team's last two matches has been converted into a goal.
The Germans will still triumph and advance to the quarters, but it will not be as wide as the odds have suggested.
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 win for Germany.
Germany starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Neuer; Kimmich, Boateng, Hummels, Hector; Khedira, Kroos; Müller, Özil, Draxler; Götze
Slovakia starting lineup (4-5-1 formation): Kozacik; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan; Mak, Kucka, Pecovsky, Hamsik, Weiss; Duda
