Germany and Italy will battle it out for a place in the semi-finals of the U21 UEFA European Championships at the MOL Arena on Sunday evening.
Germany have arguably been the standout team of the tournament so far, winning all three of their group games including an impressive 2-1 victory against the holders England last time out. That triumph ensured that the Germans have now won an impressive six matches in a row across all competitions, and they will hope to make it seven when the Italians come calling.
Italy have been the definition of steady as while they have failed to score more than once in five straight games, they have also not conceded more than once in their last four. They finished runners-up in a group that contained one of the pre-tournament favourites in Spain and hosts Slovakia, so they will not be an easy opponent for Germany.
The Germans have won the previous two H2Hs though, and will be confident of a third given their form. Nonetheless, this is a match-up that we are very much looking forward to seeing.
How the bookies view it: Germany classed as favourites
Unsurprisingly given their impressive group stage and superior form, Germany have been classed as 5/6 odds-on favourites with BoyleSports for this one. An Italy victory can be backed at 13/5 with the same bookmaker, while a draw in normal time is valued at 5/2.
Recent head-to-head: Germany win six-goal thriller
These two teams last met in 2022, where Germany won a thrilling encounter 4-2. The game also saw four yellow cards and one red dished out, and temperatures could flare up again in such an important affair.
Players to watch: Can anyone stop Woltemade?
Nick Woltemade has simply been a revelation in the tournament so far, following up his opening game hat-trick against Slovenia with another goal against the Czech Republic. The German striker can be backed at 11/10 with BoyleSports to score anytime.
Niccolo Pisilli scored for Italy in a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Spain last time out, and will have to be marked closely by the Germans.
Predicted lineups
Nelson Wieper is Germany's only injury worry after he came off late in their 2-1 victory against England last time out, and may be left out of the starting XI as a precaution.
Italy have had no new injury concerns to report ahead of the match, and so could stay unchanged.
Germany: Ernst, Collins, Rosnfelder, Arrey-Mbi, Brown, Martel, Reitz, Nebel, Gruda, Tresoldi, Woltemade.
Italy: Zacchi, Turicchia, Coppola, Ghilardi, Koyode, Guarino, Bianco, Doumbia, Fazzini, Pisilli, Ambrosino.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in three of the previous four H2Hs, so backing Germany to win and Both Teams To Score (BTTS) at 5/2 with BoyleSports seems wise. They have also been fairly free-scoring of late with nine goals in total in the group stage, and the same bookmaker are offering 7/4 for them to also score in both halves.
GambleAware