England U21 vs Italy U21 Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

England have every reason to be optimistic about the future of their national team, despite the disarray the current senior team find themselves in at the moment. Their youth setup is a promising one though.

The likes of Tammy Abraham, Nathan Redmond, and Demarai Gray are very promising players going forward, and a midfield trio of James Ward-Prowse, Nathaniel Chalobah, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could become very formidable.

This has shown in their recent performances as well. Last month they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 5-0 at home to make it nine games without defeat, with seven of those ending in victory. Their last loss was in June 2015, coincidentally against Italy U21 in the UEFA U21 Championships.

Italy U21’s have played a lot more matches than their counterparts since that victory, and until recently it was going just as well for them. After the win over England they won six and drew two of their following eight games, but a 1-0 loss to France U21 ended that streak. Now, they have won just one of their last five games and failed to beat Albania, Serbia, and Lithuania.

England U21 have been unstoppable on home turf recently. They have won nine on the bounce in England and are facing an Italy U21 side who look a bit out of sorts at the moment.

Tammy Abraham is likely to be the most dangerous player that Italy U21 have to deal with. The Chelsea loanee has scored 12 goals in 20 appearances for Bristol City this season and scored two in the thrashing of Bosnia-Herzegovina last month. He is going to be the best option for an anytime goalscorer backing in this one.

On the balance of things I think England U21 have the confidence to carry their winning streak on on Thursday, and odds of 11/10 for them to get the win look very good value. I’m backing that along with a 2-1 correct score prediction at 15/2.