Prediction, Odds & Betting tips for Italy vs. England at UEQ.
Prediction, Odds & Betting tips for Italy vs. England at UEQ.
Azzurri are the reigning European champions. Yet everybody forgot about that following Italy’s failure to reach the World Cup in Qatar last year. The head coach, Roberto Mancini, has a clear mission here: to secure a place in the upcoming tournament and reach at least the quarterfinals. Italy opens the qualifiers against the toughest possible opponents, England, who still remembers a painful loss in the EURO finals at Wembley. The Three Lions didn’t have a good campaign in Qatar, and they want to bounce back as soon as possible.
Italy
Mancini and the boys had a solid run in the UEFA Nations League competition, ending atop their group, which involved England, Germany, and Hungary. They were better than the Hungarians in Budapest in the last round, 0-2, beating direct rivals for the top place.
In those six events, Italy recorded three victories, two draws, and only one loss, which was a painful one, a 5-2 humiliation in Germany. Azzurri had two friendly contests afterward, meeting Albania on the road, 1-3, and Austria, also away from home, only in this one, the hosts were better than the reigning EURO champs, 2-0.
The Italians are without a loss at home for the last three events, having a draw against Germany, 1-1, and back-to-back victories, 2-1 vs. Hungary and 1-0 over England.
England
Penalties were once again fatal for the Three Lions, who suffered elimination in the quarterfinals of the previous World Cup because Hary Kane missed the shot from the white spot. The captain had a chance to level the score at 2-all six minutes before the end, but like so many English players before him, he failed to step up.
It was the first loss for the Three Lions following five straight games in which they haven’t felt the taste of defeat. They were quite confident during the World Cup group stage and the Round of 16 against Senegal, whom they sliced 3-0.
Since losing to France, England didn’t play any matches. Gareth Southgate said he would use this time to speak with the players and recover them from another big failure.
Italy: Donnarumma; Toloi, Bonucci, Bastoni; Di Lorenzo, Barella, Jorginho, Pobega, Dimarco; Raspadori, Chiesa
England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Bellingham, Rice, Henderson; Saka, Kane, Foden
Italy and England met twice in the previous UEFA Nations League edition. Following a goalless draw in England, Italy was better than the big rivals at home 1-0. Previously, we’ve seen them in the EURO 2020 finals, when Italy took the title in front of more than 80,000 English fans.
The game will be cautious, as both units always have a cautious and defensive-minded approach. That’s why our pick here would be under 2.5 goals.
Our verdict: Under 2.5 goals