Benzema a brilliant 3/1 to score first for France against Albania

Karim Benzema comes in at a fine 3/1 with Coral to score first for France in the Euro 2016 hosts’ latest preparation friendly against Albania, and the Real Madrid striker should do just that.

Benzema is only one of three footballers on Les Bleus’ current roster to have faced the Eastern European nation before.

Besides joining Spurs stopper and national captain Hugo Lloris, plus PSG’s former Newcastle United playmaker Yohan Cabaye, in earning wins over Albania, Benzema grabbed the first goal in a 2-1 victory back in September 2011.

Also, Benzema broke the deadlock in France’s last home match, taking just three minutes to net against Portugal.

He also boasts some fearsome form for his club to boot, scoring in all of his last three appearances for Los Blancos and nine in his previous eight across all competitions.

Stake £15 on this bet involving Benzema, who is in the thick of a present purple patch, and punters stand to get a return of £60 at these odds, £45 of which is profit. He will not want for supply either.

You may recall how diminutive winger Mathieu Valbuena linked up so well with Benzema at the recent World Cup in Brazil. Those silky skills earned the former Marseille man a big money move to Russian Premier League club Dynamo Moscow.

On the opposite flank, Benzema can enjoy more direct supply from Antoine Griezmann, who joined La Liga champions Atletico Madrid from overachieving Basque Country club Real Sociedad (where David Moyes has just taken over).

With Cabaye and Golden Boy award winner Paul Pogba, a gong given to the best young player in Europe, pulling the strings in Les Bleus’ midfield, supply shall also come centrally.

France boss Didier Deschamps has also called some fresh faces in defence, with the uncapped trio of Monaco left back Layvin Kurzawa, St-Etienne skipper Loic Perrin (on standby for the World Cup) and Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma included. The former and latter will both be targeting debuts in either the Albania or Sweden matches.