The UEFA Euro U21s Championship resumes on Monday, with Denmark Under-21s taking on Germany Under-21s in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Denmark won Group C with a 100% record, while Germany squeezed through as runners-up of Group A after winning one and drawing two of their group matches.
Match preview
Denmark have arguably been the most impressive team in the tournament so far, having won all three of their matches without conceding a single goal.
France, Russia and Iceland were all swept aside by Albert Capellas's side, with FC Midtjylland midfielder Anders Dreyer twice getting himself on the scoresheet.
Like the senior Denmark national team, Denmark's U21s are a tight knit group fundamentally built on defensive organisation, although they do have a real livewire in attack in the shape of Jacob Bruun Larsen.
The Hoffenheim forward, who spent the second half of this season on loan at Anderlecht, has scored six goals in 26 caps for the U21s and will be expected to work diligently against Germany on Monday.
© Reuters
Germany, meanwhile, pipped Romania to a place in the knockout stages on goal difference after playing out a bore 0-0 draw against them in their final group game in March.
Managed by Stefan Kuntz, the man who famously scored the equaliser in Germany's penalty shootout victory over England at Wembley Stadium during Euro 1996, Germany U21s have arguably underperformed so far given the enviable quality within their ranks.
Ridle Baku's brace helped them to an impressive 3-0 win over Hungary in their opening match, while Manchester City forward Lukas Nmecha, who has also spent the season on loan with Anderlecht, has impressed with two goals and counting.
However, the Germans will be expected to move up a gear against Denmark on Monday, with Kuntz keen to show that his players are capable of peaking at the right moment in the tournament.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Denmark will be without defenders Mads Bech Sorensen and Mads Roerslev due to the Brentford duo's participation in their club's Championship playoff final at Wembley on Saturday.
Simon Graves Jensen and Victor Kristiansen have been drafted into the squad as potential replacements.
Germany, meanwhile, are unlikely to have their captain Arne Maier available after the Arminia Bielefeld midfielder twisted his ankle in training on Wednesday, while Niklas Dorsch is suspended after picking up two bookings during the group stages.
Anton Stach and Mateo Klimowicz are expected to come into midfield to replace the duo, with Brentford's Vitaly Janelt unable to be involved for the same reason as his club teammates Sorensen and Roerslev, and Salih Ozcan tied up with FC Koln's relegation playoff against Holstein Kiel.
Borussia Dortmund's teenage sensation Youssoufa Moukoko will not take part in the knockout stages due to a ligament injury which also kept him out of the final weeks of his club's campaign.
Denmark Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Carstensen, Nelsson, Alves, Poulsen; Isaksen, Andersen, Nartey, Lindstrom, Larsen; Dreyer
Germany Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Vagnoman, Pieper, Schlotterbeck, Raum; Klimowicz, Stach, Wirtz; Baku, Nmecha, Berisha
We say: Denmark Under-21s 1-1 Germany Under-21s (Germany through on pens)
We can envisage a tight, nervy match between these two proud nations, who conceded just one goal between them in six group games.
Both teams have goals in them, though, with excellent wide forwards and strikers capable of providing a moment of quality. We see a score draw with extra-time and penalties following for a place in the semi-final.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Denmark Under-21s win with a probability of 49.86%. A win for Germany Under-21s had a probability of 25.85% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Denmark Under-21s win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.57%) and 2-0 (8.47%). The likeliest Germany Under-21s win was 0-1 (6.9%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.49%).
Spain U21s
