ITALY begin preparations for their Euro title defence as they host Turkey in an international friendly on Tuesday.
The Italians have looked sharp in recent times and given their fine record in this fixture, should get the better of the Turks, who have been a bit out of sorts lately.
The task for Italy will be to find their rhythm as they prepare to defend their title at Euro 2024. Luciano Spalletti's men looked off-colour at times during the qualifiers but eventually secured a spot with a second-placed finish behind England.
The Italians have a knack for picking up their form before major tournaments and are now unbeaten in eight of their last nine matches across all competitions. They have claimed six wins in that run, including a 2-0 victory over Venezuela in a friendly back in March.
Turkey are in a similar situation with Italy as they are also looking to build some momentum ahead of their Euro 2024 campaign. They breezed through the qualifiers, suffering just one defeat and finishing above Croatia.
The problem for Turkey is that they appear to have lost their way since sealing a place in this summer’s competition. Vincenzo Montella’s men have lost their last two matches and were hammered 6-1 by Austria in their previous friendly back in March.
How the bookies view it: Azzurri on top
The bookies have installed Italy as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 3/5 by bet365. An unlikely victory for Turkey is valued at 5/1 while a draw is set at odds of 13/5.
Head to head: Italians all the way
Italy have never lost to Turkey, with seven wins and three draws from 19 previous meetings. The Italians claimed a 3-2 victory in a friendly match back in March 2022.
Players to watch: Chiesa the threat
Federico Chiesa carries a major attacking threat for Italy having scored three times in his last four appearances for the national team. The forward is also coming off goals in the final two Serie A matches for Juventus and is priced at 2/1 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Much of Turkey’s attacking play goes through Hakan Calhanoglou, who is also a threat from set pieces. The midfielder scored the only goal in the defeat to Austria last time out and could be worth keeping an eye on at 11/2 by bet365.
Probable line-ups
Striker Gianluca Scamacca is likely to sit out Tuesday’s clash, with Atalanta’s final Serie A game of the season on Saturday. The likes of Baris Yilmaz and Enes Unal could be handed starts for Turkey having started on the bench in Austria.
Italy: Donnarumma, Darmian, Bastoni, Mancini, Dimarco, Cristante, Jorginho, Barella, Pellegrini, Raspadori, Chiesa
Turkey: Cakir, Muldur Demiral, Kabak, Ozkacar, Ozcan, Calhanoglou, Kahveci Akturkoglu, Unal, Yilmaz
Anything else catch the eye?
The last meeting between Italy and Turkey produced over 3.5 goals and a repeat is priced at 7/4 by bet365. Over 2.5 goals is valued at 4/5 by bet365, who is also offering 4/5 on both teams to score.
Italy have scored in both halves in three of their last four matches and a similar pattern is priced at 7/4 by bet365. With the Italians priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 7/5 with bet365.
This International Friendly match between Italy and Turkey will be played on Jun 4, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Italy vs Turkey prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
