STAR PREVIEW Sat: England v Italy

England will be looking to enact revenge on Italy for their heartbreaking EURO 2020 final defeat when the two nations meet again at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.

Although plenty of time has past since that defeat to Italy, that night at Wembley still hurts for the England players and supporters who truly believed – after many, many years of hurt – that football might just be coming home at last.

Luke Shaw made them believe even more when he put the Three Lions in front within the first three minutes, but England were pegged back by Leonardo Bonucci before – rather predictably – they were defeated in a penalty shoot-out.

This will be a new-look England side with manager Gareth Southgate admitting that he is using this international break to tinker with his team and experiment with new players as the winter World Cup in Qatar edges closer.

Kalvin Phillips went off in England’s last outing – a hard-fought 1-1 draw against old rivals Germany in the Nations League – so is highly unlikely to be involved in this one. Jack Grealish made a superb impact off the bench on Tuesday and so is expected to be in from the start.

England v Italy
UEFA Nations League Group Stage
19:45 Channel 4 / All 4

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
JUL 2021 EURO 2020 FINAL England 1-1 Italy (Italy won 3-2 on pens)
MAR 2018 FRIENDLY England 1-1 Italy
MAR 2015 FRIENDLY Italy 1-1 England
JUN 2014 WORLD CUP England 1-2 Italy
AUG 2012 FRIENDLY England 2-1 Italy
JUN 2012 EURO 2012 England 0-0 Italy (Italy won 4-2 on pens)
MAR 2002 FRIENDLY England 1-2 Italy
NOV 2000 FRIENDLY Italy 1-0 England
OCT 1997 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER Italy 0-0 England
JUN 1997 FRIENDLY England 2-0 Italy

It was euphoria for Italy at Wembley nearly 12 months ago, but things haven’t exactly gone so well since that night in north-west London.

Roberto Mancini’s side were defeated by North Macedonia in the World Cup play-offs and, as a result, will be not heading to Qatar in December – the second consecutive World Cup that Italy have failed to qualify for.

Their recent form has also been incredibly ropey; winning just two of their last six fixtures which included a resounding defeat in Finalissima at Wembley just a couple of weeks ago.

Bonucci, who was the thorn in England’s side at the EUROs last year, will not be involved in this one with a slightly younger and fresher Italy side expected than the one that faced the Three Lions in July of last year.

This should be an interesting affair on Saturday. Despite many claiming that these Nations League games don’t really matter, England will be surely eager to get one over on Italy. We’re backing England to win with both teams scoring and Grealish getting an assist.

JOE CITRONE

RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK England and BTTS 1pt at 16/5 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Jack Grealish to assist a goal 1pt at 3/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

---

PROFIT/LOSS (JUNE 2022): LOSS -27.40 points
(Excluding ante-post recommendations CLICK HERE)

---

STAR PROMOTIONS