It’s fair to say that Italy have been one of the most impressive sides at Euro 2020.
Roberto Mancini’s side breezed through Group A, with many expecting them to have things a bit more difficult given the perceived quality of their opponents.
They were emphatic, winning all three games to nil, while offering an excellent attacking threat throughout – an area many expected them to struggle in.
Creating chances was something the Italians did excellently, racking up 6.8 expected goals (xG) – an average of 2.27 per game.
Defensively they have been as impressive, allowing just 1.4 xG in three games – an average of just 0.47 per game.
These numbers a simply staggering, and the Italians deserve huge respect moving forwards in this tournament, respect I don’t feel the bookies are giving them ahead of this round of 16 tie.
Mancini’s men are unbeaten in 30 games – the joint longest unbeaten run in Italy national team history – and have kept 11 straight clean sheets. That’s nearly 1,000 minutes of football without conceding.
After dominating Turkey and Switzerland, Italy rang the changes against Wales and were still as dominant, showing that this is very much a talented SQUAD rather than just an XI.
In a game where the draw was the 5/4 favourite, it was Austria who prevailed against Ukraine to guarantee their progression to the round of 16.
They couldn’t afford to lose that game, and were deserving of their victory, dominating from start to finish against a Ukraine team that didn’t look at all interested in playing Italy in the round of 16.
While the Austrians impressed against the two ‘lesser’ teams in Group C, also beating North Macedonia handily, ahead of this game we should apply more weight to their match against the Netherlands.
Available at 13/10 with BetVictor and 5/4 generally, there is a huge amount of value on offer given what we have seen from Roberto Mancini’s side so far, and the Austrians when they played a better team.
I’d make this around even money, so the prices available are staggering – especially given the fact Italy have won to nil in all of their last 11 matches.
Expect another comfortable win for Italy.
Score prediction: Italy 2-0 Austria ()
Odds correct 1210 BST (23/06/21)
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at and .