Jamaica Women vs Italy Women Predictions

As they were beaten by three goals to nil, it wasn’t the ideal start for Jamaica, who’re at their first ever World Cup. They’ll be hoping to do better on match-day two, though after the Italians upset the Aussies, it’s likely to be another tough afternoon for the Reggae Girlz.

Although they weren’t terrible, especially going forward, as they created some half-decent opportunities, especially on the break, Jamaica were outclassed by an ageing Brazil side on match-day one. While they certainly had their moments going forward, they didn’t keep the ball well, while they looked very shaky at the back, shipping three goals, 19 shots, seven of which hit the target, and 3.44 expected goals. Such numbers don’t exactly bode well ahead of a game against an Italian side that performed well against the Aussies.

The Italians didn’t outclass the Australians on match-day one and they did ride their luck at times, but they stuck to the task and took their chances when they arose. Against a Jamaica side that looked very open on match-day one, Italy ought to be capable of delivering a more dominant performance, after all, they’re no strangers to scoring goals against weaker teams. Then again, they do tend to concede goals against just about anyone. Italy will come into this match having conceded in each of their last six games.

If we consider the defensive efforts of both on match-day one, then ‘Both Teams to Score’ makes plenty of appeal at the current prices. On paper, Italy are considerably better than Jamaica and they ought to have no problem finding the net against a rear-guard that looked very dodgy against the Brazilians, though as touched on above, the Italians haven’t been the strongest at the back of late. Last time out, they failed to keep a clean sheet, while they conceded a rather displeasing 2.54 expected goals.

Similarly, Jamaica defended poorly on match-day one, so much so that it would be a massive surprise if they kept a clean sheet in Reims on Friday, though the attacking promise that they showed against the Brazilians suggests that a first goal of the tournament is far from beyond them.

All in all, after they conceded a combined 5.98 expected goals in match-day one, backing both Jamaica and Italy to register on the score-sheet when they meet on Friday stands out as a viable option.