Euro 2012 Predictions: 5 Players Who Could Win the Golden Boot

There are four days to go before the start of Euro 2012, and if the friendly results are to be taken seriously, strikers should be rubbing their hands together.

Plenty of teams have injury worries going into the tournament, and many of them are in defensive positions.

That may not be a good sign for the football purists; however, for the fans and, more importantly, the strikers—it's great.

When picking a Golden Boot winner, you have to take into account a number of factors.

Most importantly, has your team got the ability to progress deep into the tournament? Very rarely do you find someone who wins the award despite being knocked out at the group stage.

Next, quality of the opposition—obviously, at some point in the competition you're going to face top opposition. However, it doesn't do any harm to pick up a few cheap goals against lesser opposition in the early games.

Finally, how important is your role within the team? Are you playing as a lone striker or sharing the goalscoring opportunities with a partner? Are you on penalties? History says the players involved with set pieces whilst leading the team from the front have the best chance of winning the prestigious Golden Boot.    

5) Robert Lewandowski 22/1

The main man for the hosts, Robert Lewandowski has a great chance to be the surprise package in the tournament.

The Borussia Dortmund striker will get the majority of goalscoring opportunities from his teammates and is a standout price considering they have been drawn in Group A.

Russia, Greece and the Czech Republic should not provide too many sleepless nights for coach Franciszek Smuda.

The 23-year-old has scored 11 goals in 23 appearances since 2010 and will receive plenty of support from a partisan home crowd in every game they're involved in.

Poland could well be the dark horses in the tournament, and that will be great news for Lewandowski's chances of walking away with the Golden Boot.

4) Mario Balotelli 33/1

Love him or hate him, Mario Balotelli gets people talking.

Take away his off-the-field problems and frequent run-ins with referees, and you have a world-class striker who is more than capable of winning the Golden Boot.

Italy are not the force they once were, but they are by no means out of the running to win the tournament.

Drawn in Group C along with favourites Spain, Italy should finish runners-up at the expense of Ireland and Croatia—with both teams open to conceding goals.

There is a slight injury doubt over the 21-year-old, but he is expected to be fit for the opening game and is coming off an excellent season with new champions Manchester City. 

3) Karim Benzema 14/1

With England's daily injuries growing, France could well be the team to win Group D and go deep in the tournament.

If that happens, Karim Benzema's name is sure to be in the hunt for top goalscorer.

The Real Madrid frontman is coming off another stunning season for Real Madrid, who clinched the La Liga title from archrivals Barcelona.

The 23-year-old scored 32 goals in 52 appearances in all competitions for his club and averages a goal every three appearances for France.

Expect that ratio to improve considerably should Laurent Blanc's men continue their excellent progression since their World Cup 2010 disaster.

2) Mario Gomez 11/1

Mario Gomez will carry Germany's hopes in the upcoming few weeks—and that could work out very well indeed for both the 26-year-old and his country.

Second favourites for the tournament, Gomez will get plenty of chances to get on the scoresheet—especially against the likes of Denmark.

Despite being in the "Group of Death" along with Holland and Portugal, they should still qualify, and the stern tests early on will stand them in good stead deeper in the tournament.

Gomez hit 41 goals in just 52 appearances for Bayern Munich this season and has already scored 22 for his country.

The forward will have to share some of the chances with Miroslav Klose, otherwise he would be at the top of this list.

1) Robin Van Persie 10/1

If Holland get through Group C—and they should—van Persie will almost certainly be the man people are talking about.

Arguably the third-best striker in the world behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the 28-year-old has the ability to set the tournament alight.

The Dutch are third favourites to win the competition, but they may not have to even make the final for the Arsenal striker to win the Golden Boot—such is the form he is in.

Aided by plenty of pace down either wing, van Persie should get plenty of opportunity in front of goal. And judging by his EPL season tally, he could well be topping the goalscoring charts in two major competitions this season.