Kick-off: 1945, 17/10/2023
Stadium: Wembley
TV: Channel 4
England and Italy meet in a crucial Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley on Tuesday night.
In what is a repeat of the last European Championship final at the same venue, the Three Lions are three points ahead of the Azzurri at the top of Group C.
A home win – which will secure qualification – with both teams scoring at 31/10 is our first England vs Italy prediction.
In-form Bellingham key for England
Gareth Southgate’s side got one over Italy, who won the Euros on penalties two years ago, in their campaign opener.
Declan Rice and Harry Kane gave the visitors a 2-0 half-time lead in Naples, holding on to claim three points after Mateo Retegui halved the deficit and Luke Shaw was sent off late on.
Southgate said: “They’re a top-10 nation. We’ve talked about these top-10 games and the importance of them, the challenge of them.
“We have the chance to qualify for the European Championship with two games to spare.
“But also it’s a great test of where we are as a team and, yeah, it’s a challenge we’re really looking forward to.”
Southgate rested plenty of his star players for the 1-0 friendly win over Australia on Friday night, with Kane, Rice, Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker and Jude Bellingham unused.
Southgate added: “It was important to keep winning because if we lose the game or you give a goal away at the end then you leave here on a bit of a low. It sets the game up now with Italy.
“In the end, it’s very hard to prepare the squad when they know ultimately this week really is about the Italy game and it’s impossible to dress that up any other way.”
Bellingham is the talk of the football world at present after his stunning start for new club Real Madrid, for whom he has netted 10 goals in his first 10 games.
Looking at the England vs Italy, odds, the midfielder to score again is 9/2.
Italy transformed under Spalletti
Italy changed manager after two qualifiers and are unbeaten in the group since that defeat to England at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Luciano Spalletti took over following the resignation of Roberto Mancini and after a disappointing draw in North Macedonia, they beat Ukraine to boost their qualification hopes before seeing off Malta.
Southgate added: “Italy look revitalised under Spalletti. They were excellent against Ukraine last month.”
This will be the fourth meeting between the sides since the Euros final, with one win apiece following a draw.
The hosts may have a bit too much going forward and a 2-1 win at 31/4 rounds off our England vs Italy betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
ENGLAND 1-0 Australia – Ollie Watkins
ITALY 4-0 Malta – Bonaventura, Berardi (2), Frattesi
Head-to-head: Italy 1-2 England, Italy 1-0 England, England 0-0 Italy, England 1-1 Italy, England 1-1 Italy
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