After becoming the first side to secure qualification into the next round, Italy look to continue their fine form against a stubborn Wales side that tend to find ways to upset the odds.
European Championship 2020
Date: 20/06/2021
Kickoff: 17:00
Venue: Stadio Olympico
Italy are on an absolute tear right now and do not look like slowing down anytime soon. The Azzurri won their first two games by a score line of 3-0 and could have scored more in both games if they really wanted to.
Thus, the Azurri have now won their last ten games without conceding a single goal. Defensively, this Italian side is as solid as it gets and we’ve seen them draw comparisons with some classic Italian sides. Yet, there’s still some way to go before those comparisons can actually hold weight.
Roberto Mancini would get the luxury of rotating his side a little bit here, since they have already qualified but they’d still want to finish top of the group so expect them to yet give their all. If Italy avoid defeat, they’ll match their national team record for consecutive games without defeat that was set in 1939.
Gareth Bale might have produced one of the best individual performances we’ve seen so far in the tournament and that’s saying something considering he didn’t get on the scoresheet and even blazed over from ten yards.
Yet, he did everything you could expect bar scoring, providing the two assists for Wales’ goals against Turkey, with the second one especially something really sublime. Wales are currently sat in second on four points and look certain to be playing in knockout stages.
A win here means they finish top of the group, a draw mean they finish second and they could still finish second even with a defeat though they could drop to third if they are beaten severely, and results elsewhere go against them and even then, they’d still likely finish amongst the top four best third-placed sides. Yet, the Welsh will be happy with their performances so far and would want to impress again against Italy as they prepare for a second consecutive trip to the knockout stages.
Team news
Italy
Alessandro Florenzi is still out with a calf injury while Giorgio Chiellini is struggling with a thigh injury.
Wales
Robert Page should have his full squad at his disposal for the game against Italy.
Team form
Italy’s last five games: WWWWW
Wales’ last five games: WLDDW
Match stats
Italy are unbeaten in their last 29 games and have scored 79 times whilst conceding only six times in that period.
Wales have only lost twice in their last 12 games (W6 D4).
Betting tips
It will be interesting to see how Italy’s defence fare up against a player like Bale. The attacker seem to picking his best form just at the right time, and he always looks motivated whenever he dons the Welsh jersey.
His speed and dynamism could prove a real threat to the Italian defense. Bale cannot do it alone though and he is unlikely to be helped much by the rest of his supporting cast so it’s almost a given that Italy continue their ridiculous run of clean sheets here. Italy have also kept a clean sheet in three of the last four encounters between both countries. Bet both teams not to score at odds of 8/13.
You can view all other betting markets for this game here
Odds subject to change – 18+|BeGambleAware.org – Please gamble responsibly
