England and Italy meet for the first time since the Azzurri beat Roy Hodgson’s charges 2-1 in the World Cup last summer in what was a disastrous campaign for both nations.
However, since then both sides have gone from strength to strength. Cesare Prandelli stepped down as manager of Italy after the World Cup and new man Antonio Conte has yet to see his side lose with five wins from six matches. England on the other hand have also been in fine form and they have beaten all who have come before them since the World Cup with an impressive away win against Switzerland at the beginning of the qualification process. However, this match represents the biggest test both of these sides will have had recently and it will be interesting to see how far both nations have come since their meeting in the World Cup.
England will be without the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana whilst Danny Rose will have to wait a bit longer for his first international cap after he was forced to withdraw from the squad through injury. The Italians themselves are going through something of a transition phase with 18 members of their squad playing less than 20 times for the national side however youngster Marco Veratti looks very much like Andrea Pirlo’s heir apparent in the middle of midfield.
With no points at stake, both managers may well experiment with some of the youngsters with Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason looking to make his debut after an impressive season for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. The freedom generated by a meaningless match can often make for an exciting spectacle and we could be in for a real treat when the two sides meet in Italy on Tuesday.
Italy v England Betting Tips
- Match to end in a draw – These sides are fairly well matched and we can’t pick a winner out of these two. Historically these matches are very close and with both sides on a good run of form we think that the sides may well cancel each other out, with a draw available at odds of 5/2 with Betfred.
- Match to feature over 2.5 goals – The Italians regularly participate in low scoring games and that is a feature which is consistent with their matches against England. However, the Italians have won three out of the last four meetings 2-1 and with England’s strikers on fire at the moment we’re backing this match to be a higher scoring match than usual at odds of evens with Coral.
- Wayne Rooney to score first – The Manchester United striker has excelled recently in England colours and he has also been impressive in the Premier League. The former Everton man is closing in on Bobby Charlton’s record and at odds of 5/1 with BetVictor we fancy him to open the scoring at the Juventus Stadium.
- Both teams to score – The match between these two at the World Cup could’ve ended in a much higher scoreline than the 2-1 it finished and with England looking a lot more dynamic going forward recently we’re tipping both teams to score at odds of 10/11 with BetVictor.