Italy vs Spain Betting Preview, Best Bets & Line-Ups (Nations League Semi-Final)
- Written by David Bet
Less than three months later, Italy and Spain find themselves once again in the semifinals. At the European Championships the Azzurri won on penalties. How will it end up in the Nations League instead? This post contains our Italy vs Spain predictions, the 2021 Nations League semifinal, starting line-ups,highest odds, how to watch the game on TV and free bets.
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How to watch Italy v Spain
The 2021 Nations League semi-final between Italy and Spain is scheduled for Wednesday 6 October. Kick-off set for 7.45pm at the Stadio San Siro in Milan.
The match will be televised live on Sky Sports Football, with coverage beginning at 7:15pm.
Sky Sports subscribers will also be able to watch the match live online via the Sky Go app.
Italy vs Spain Betting Preview
Since the triumph in the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley, Italy have played three qualifying matches for the next World Cup in Qatar. Roberto Mancini's team drew both against Bulgaria (1-1) and Switzerland (0-0), confirming the historic difficulties in September. In the third match, the Azzurri easily beat Lithuania with 5-0 scoreline. With these three useful results, Italy have set a new record for the longest unbeaten run in international history (36 matches), beating the previous record held by Brazil and Spain.
Spain have also played three games since they were knocked out by Italy in the semi-final of the European Championships. La Roja lost 2-1 to Sweden away from home and then beat Georgia (4-0 at home) and Kosovo (2-0 away with goals from Pablo Fornals and Ferran Torres). They are four points clear of Sweden in Group B of the World Cup Qualifying, but have played one more match than the Scandinavians. Prior to the two clean sheets against Kosovo and Georgia, the Spanish backline had conceded 7 goals in their previous four games (including three against Croatia in their opening game at the Euros).
As above mentioned, the most recent direct encounter between Italy and Spain is the Euro 2020 semifinal played at Wembley last July. The match ended 1-1 after regular time (and then extra time), with goals from Federico Chiesa and Alvaro Morata. On penalties, Italy triumphed thanks to Morata's missed panalty and the final one scored by Jorginho.
Best Odds
Italy are favourites to win this clash 27/200 with Ladbrokes. UK's popular bookmaker Betfred offer 11/5 for the draw while "Spain to win" is backable at 53/20 with Betsafe.
Probable Line-Ups
ITALY (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Raspadori, Insigne.
Roberto Mancini has selected more or less the same group that won the European Championships this summer summer, except for the injured Alessandro Florenzi, Rafael Toloi, Matteo Pessina, Andrea Belotti and Ciro Immobile. The youngster Giacomo Raspadori will lead the line (unless the manager decides to give Moise Kean a rare start), with Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Chiesa confirmed as offensive wings. Nicolo Barella, Jorginho and Marco Verratti will form the trio of midfielders while Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Emerson Palmieri will be deployed in defense in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma. Among the called up, there are some new faces (such as Federico Dimarco and Davide Calabria) with a chance of making their debut.
SPAIN (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Azpilicueta, Eric Garcia, Laporte, Reguilon; Koke, Busquets, Rodri; Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Sarabia.
Luis Enrque also confirmed the block which well performed at the European Championships. The Spaniards still remain without a central forward (Alvaro Morata and Gerard Moreno are injured) but they can count on many talented offensive players. The likes of Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres and one between Yeremi Pino and Pablo Sarabia will start upfront. In midfield the experience of Koke and Sergi Busquets, with the physical strength of Rodri. Barcelona's talented Pedri is out due to injury. At the back, Eric Garcia and Laporte will be the centre backs. With Jordi Alba sidelined, Azpilicueta will start as right back. Marcos Alonso and Reguilon are in contention for the left-back spot.
Italy v Spain Predictions
Italy and Spain a tough and very levelled game a few months ago, with the Azzurri being slightly preferred in terms goal chances. It is unlikely that this equlibrium has changed in the space of a few months. However, there is one key factor taking into account: Italy will have a jam-packed Stadio San Siro to push behind them. For this reason, we believe that the favoritism accorded to the Azzurri is justified. Therefore, we back Italy to win (probably a narrow win). 1-0 is the correct score we recommend. Among the scorers, watch out for Chiesa (who appeared in form with Juventus) and Barella.
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