Belgium vs Italy
Two of the hottest teams in Euro 2020 are set to lock horns in a mouthwatering quarterfinals tiff as Belgium face Italy at the Allianz Arena.
Belgium are coming off of a tough victory over defending champions Portugal, while Italy got to the quarterfinals by dispatching a highly-motivated Austria team in the last time out.
The winner of this tie is going to play either Switzerland — who recently produced one of the shocking Euro 2020 results so far when they toppled France — or Spain, who just defeated Croatia in an eight-goal thriller.
Some of the world’s biggest names in football are going to be present here in this game. And here at SBOTOP, we’d expect nothing less from these stars.
One can argue that this game may very well determine the winner of this competition, so something has to give when these juggernauts go toe-to-toe this weekend.
Talking Points
Belgium dealing with major injury doubts
The Red Devils are dealt with a huge blow since the duo of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne are unlikely to feature in this quarterfinals affair versus the Azzurri.
De Bruyne came off the pitch in their 1-0 win over Portugal three minutes into the second half while Eden Hazard asked to be subbed late as well.
Team manager Roberto Martinez confirmed during the postgame press conference that Kevin De Bruyne has a bruised ankle ligament while Eden Hazard’s hamstring remains a huge concern.
Eden Hazard’s injury history in recent years is something that Belgium fans are already used to, but Kevin De Bruyne being sidelined is arguably the bigger blow for the Red Devils.
The Manchester City midfielder is their most influential playmaker and losing him adds burden to someone like Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku is one of the favourites to win the Golden Boot this year and he is more than capable of adding more goals to his account.
With De Bruyne and Hazard out, Lukaku will be invaluable in trying to breach Italy’s rock-solid defence but it’ll be much easier said than done.
Thorgan Hazard, Youri Tielemans, Dries Mertens, and Yannick Carrasco will be needed to play beyond themselves in order to alleviate the pressure off of Romelu Lukaku’s broad shoulders.
How long will Italy’s streak last?
With so many options to choose from, Roberto Mancini’s main job is to find the proper combination every match and he has done great in this tournament so far.
Italy have recently broken Vittorio Pozzo’s 82-year record for the most consecutive games going undefeated (31) after beating Austria last week at the Wembley Stadium.
Matteo Pessina has been the man of the hour for the Azzurri since he’s responsible in scoring the game-winning goal in their last two games.
He is expected to play in the midfield alongside Marco Verratti and Jorginho, while Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile, and Domenico Berardi are to lead the attacking front.
On the other hand, Italy are optimistic that team captain Giorgio Chiellini will play after being absent in the last two fixtures due to an injury.
His physical presence at central defence will play a huge role especially in trying to slow down Romelu Lukaku this Friday.
History
The Euro 2020 quarterfinals matchup between Belgium and Italy is going to be the 23rd meeting between these nations.
Italy are poised to win because they have been utterly dominant against Belgium historically. The Azzurri have won 14 times while the Red Devils won in four along with four draws.
Their most recent encounter was also in the Euros as Antonio Conte’s Italy defeated Belgium 2-0 in the group stage on June 2016 as Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle had one goal each.
Three of Belgium’s four wins over Italy were friendlies. The Red Devils’ only victory in a competitive setting was 2-1 at home in the second leg of the European Championship qualifier playoffs in May 1972.
Betting Tip
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Belgium vs Italy | Italy Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 1.70 |
| July 3, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
The Euro 2020 odds point to a close match and it is expected given a game of this magnitude.
Italy are slightly favoured to win at 2.34 while Belgium are not far behind at 3.00 according to the 1X2 market.
Belgium is the top-ranked team for a reason although they have won nothing yet and this is their golden opportunity to show what they’re made of. However, Italy are the last team that they would’ve wanted to face.
Roberto Mancini has turned the Azzurri into a well-oiled machine that can do no wrong on the pitch and their depth might prove to be the difference as to why they’re likely to advance to the next round.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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