Italy vs England Predictions

• Four of the last five meetings between these teams have finished level after 90 minutes.
• Four of Italy’s last six matches have gone under 2.5 goals
• England have only lost one of their 27 major tournament qualifiers under Gareth Southgate

2020 finalists meet again

England and Italy famously met in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley, with the Azzurri taking home the victory in a penalty shootout. The pair then landed in the same Nations League group so this will be their fourth meeting in the last two years.

This will be the first match for The Three Lions since they were dumped out of the World Cup by France in the quarter-finals. Gareth Southgate has stayed on as manager and will be aiming to lead his side into their fourth major tournament under his tutelage.

Italy will be hoping to bounce back after failing to qualify for Qatar thanks to finishing second to Switzerland in their qualifying group and losing out to North Macedonia in the play-off.

Standing in their way are the familiar foes of England and the pair have played out a number of close encounters recently.

Spoils could be shared in Naples

With four of the last five meetings between these two teams ending in stalemate after 90 minutes and the last five meetings going under 2.5 goals, a low-scoring, cagey affair looks likely. Four of Italy’s last six matches have also seen fewer than four goals so a typically tight clash looks likely.

With neither side having played since December and with the demands of this intense season on the players, an element of disjointed play is to be expected.

England drew three of their six Nations League games last year so are no strangers to a stalemate under Southgate, who has done a solid job of making his team hard to beat in the biggest games.

Goals could be at a premium

With these national teams having not played for some time and with a number of easier assignments further down the line in a qualification group in which these two will  be expected to fight it out for top spot, don’t expect too much in terms of goalmouth action when these two meet.

However if there is one player who can be a real threat for England it may well be Bukayo Saka, who is having arguably his best ever season. The Arsenal man has 13 goals in all competitions and starred at the World Cup, he can translate his hot Gunners form here.

Expect Saka to be a real thorn in the side of the Azzurri despite the likely low-scoring nature of this game.

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