Italy vs Austria
After a scintillating campaign so far in the Euro 2020, the time is now for the Azzurri to show everyone what they’re made of starting in the Final 16.
Italy are sitting on top of Group A and they’ll face Austria, who finished second in Group C, this weekend over at the Wembley Stadium.
Since their dominant opener against Turkey, Italy have breezed past the competition through their exciting brand of football and they’ll come in as the form side in the entire competition.
Austria, meanwhile, are an intriguing squad who will look to achieve their full potential. But the road to glory is going to get harder from here on out.
After alternating a win and a loss in their first two games, Franco Foda’s men almost missed out on this occasion but they survived in their rubber match against Ukraine with a scoreline of 1-0.
This will be the first time that they’ll be in the European Championship knockout stages and they are more than determined to punch above their weight and write history.
Talking Points
Roberto Mancini has options to choose from for Italy
One of the main reasons why Italy have had success here in Euro 2020 is because of their depth all over the field.
Roberto Mancini has already utilised 25 players out of his 26-man pool and he has expertly pushed the right buttons while managing their load.
While their attack has received all of the plaudits, their defence played a major role to their sizzling run since they have yet to concede a goal in this tournament.
Speaking of defence, Mancini has a big decision to make on who’ll lead their backline against Austria.
Giorgio Chiellini and Alessandro Florenzi were out injured against Wales. Chiellini is reportedly back in training while the same can’t be said for Florenzi.
Roberto Mancini probably won’t risk the two so Alessandro Bastoni and Francesco Acerbi are expected to play heavy minutes alongside Leonardo Bonucci, while Giovanni Di Lorenzo or Rafael Toloi should be their options at right-back.
Furthermore, the Azzurri may have to choose between Manuel Locatelli and Marco Verratti as the third man in the midfield alongside Jorginho and Nicolo Barella.
Manuel Locatelli has been solid for the Azzurri in the first two matches, while Marco Verratti showed no ill effects of his knee injury in their 1-0 victory over the Red Dragons.
Domenico Berardi, Lorenzo Insigne, and Ciro Immobile are to lead out front and they’ll be aggressive for goals, while Gianluigi Donnarumma should remain as their goalkeeper.
Austria’s mainstays need to play big
The Austrians have to bring their A-game against the Azzurri if they have plans to pull off one of the most shocking Euro 2020 results this weekend.
Austria are a hungry squad filled with quality and one can argue that they enter the Round of 16 as a dark horse.
David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic are two of the most recognisable names in their roster and they’ll need to be sharp in dictating tempo against the red-hot Italians.
Christoph Baumgartner, who scored the winning goal against Ukraine, is considered doubtful against Italy since he suffered a head injury. This means that Marcel Sabitzer and Sasa Kalajdzic have a big responsibility in hunting goals.
History
It’s clear that the Italians are the Goliaths while the Austrians are the Davids.
In their previous 13 games together, the Azzurri are unbeaten in all of them in all competitions (W10, D3) since their 1-2 international friendly loss way back in December 1960.
This will be the first time that they’ll face off anew since their 2-2 draw in an exhibition game back in August 2008.
Italy are currently undefeated in 30 consecutive international games (W25, D5), which is the joint-longest run in their history. With a win here, Roberto Mancini will surpass Vittorio Pozzo’s legendary run between 1935 to 1939 – a record that stood for 82 years.
Austria, meanwhile, will make their first appearance in the knockout stage of any major tournament since their semifinals run in the 1954 World Cup.
Betting Tip
 |
 |
Italy vs Austria | Italy Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 1.85 |
| June 27, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
The SBOTOP Euro 2020 odds have the Azzurri installed, not only as the favourites to win here, but as a viable championship contender as well.
Italy are pegged to win 1.48, while Austria are the underdogs at 6.20 and chances for a draw are at 4.20 in the 1×2 market.
The Austrians have plenty of talent and they are going to do their best to make this game competitive. However, in the end, we see the Italians moving on to the quarterfinals – and possibly all the way to winning it all.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
|
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
