Two neighborhood countries, Italy and Austria, clash in the EURO 2020 Round of 16 at Wembley. Even though they share the border, we haven’t seen these two teams meet for a long time. Italy comes into this event as a huge favorite, and how wouldn’t they be following superb performances during the group stage. On the other side, Austria didn’t want to settle with one point against Ukraine but instead won all three, securing the second spot in Group C. The entire football community expected to see the Austrians and Ukraine sharing one point each, but Franco Fonda‘s crew wanted to play clean and honorable.
Preview
Italy (-195) was superb in the group stage, scoring seven goals without a single one allowed, collecting nine points in three events. Roberto Mancini tied a new national record in the meantime, not losing for 30 consecutive matches while leading the national team.
Azzurri smashed Turkey in the opener, 3-0, after that rolled over Switzerland with the same result before beating Wales in the final clash of the group stage with 1-0. Let us tell you right away, all these wins might have been even higher.
By the way, Italy didn’t concede a single goal in the previous 10 games. On the other side, they would net at least twice in all but the last contest against Wales.
Austria (+650) was superb against Ukraine. Even though they won just 1-0, Arnautovic and the rest of the crew were extremely dominant, fully deserving a victory and three points.
Fonda’s s crew is highly unstable, and we’ve seen them in all sorts of moods over the recent few months. The Austrian team is capable of beating very good teams, but also, losing to some mediocre opponent. They have Arnautovic, Sabitzer, and Alaba, who are each the leaders of their line.
The attack was a bit of a problem for the Austrians in recent times, as they failed to score in four of the last six games.
Latest News
Chiellini should be able to play in the round of 16. Juve’s defender pulled his flexor muscle, but he should be ready for the clash according to the sources from the Italian national team.
Austrians have all their players at their disposal.
Head to Head Matches
Some 13 years ago, Italy and Austria played a friendly international game which ended 2-2. They met at the 1998 World Cup in Group B, and the Italians won that match, 2-1. Christian Vieri and Roberto Baggio scored for the Italians, while Andi Herzog netted for the Austrians.
Prediction
So far, the Italians have been the team that left the best impression on us. Azzurri aren’t playing slow and sluggish football as they used to do throughout history. Mancini transformed this unit into one of the best in the world, all that while playing attractive and modern football. Italy will post an easy triumph here, probably without a goal allowed. Their defense is impeccable, while on the other hand, Austria has big problems in front of the rival’s goal. On top of that, they have much better players and are in unreal form.
Here are the betting previews for other EURO 2020 Round of 16 games:
- Wales vs. Denmark
- Netherlands vs. Czech Republic
- Belgium vs. Portugal
- Croatia vs. Spain
- France vs. Switzerland
- England vs. Germany
- Sweden vs. Ukraine
Also, here you can find more info about the upcoming men’s Olympic football tournament in Tokyo.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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