ITALY have been a bogey team for England in recent years so Gareth Southgate faces a tough start to the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in front of a partisan crowd in Naples.
The Azzurri are unbeaten in the last six meetings, with the most memorable triumph coming at Wembley in the Euro 2020 final as they edged it on penalties to become kings of the continent.
Having impressed so much in that tournament, it was a major surprise when Roberto Mancini's side followed it up by failing to reach the World Cup, with North Macedonia stunning them in the play-offs.
As usual, England breezed through qualifying but headed to Qatar in poor form after finishing bottom of a Nations League group that included Italy, Germany and Hungary.
That piled pressure on Gareth Southgate heading to the World Cup but his side responded superbly in the finals as they blazed a trail to the quarter-finals with some free-scoring displays.
With Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka emerging as breakout stars, it was looking good for the Three Lions – only for France to beat them 2-1 as another bet landed for our man Slips Tips.
Despite crashing out, Southgate decided to stay in charge for another campaign and he will be targeting the Euro crown after coming so agonisingly close last time out.
How the bookies view it
This is a really tough one to call but England are slight favourites at 18/11 with SBK while Italy are 2/1 at Coral. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a draw and that pays 9/4 at Betfred.
Recent head to head
Although England have failed to beat Italy in their last six meetings, they have only lost two of those matches in normal time. However, one of those defeats came on their last visit a year ago as Giacomo Raspadori scored the only goal in their Nations League clash.
Players to watch
Mancini has problems in attack with Ciro Immobile out injured, Federico Chiesa picking up a knock and Gianluca Scamacca rarely featuring for West Ham this season. He might be tempted to unleash Leeds winger Wilfried Gnonto and the youngster's pace could unsettle England. Gnoto is 24/5 at William Hill for anytime scorer while McBookie have him at 4/1 for an assist.
Arsenal winger Saka headed into the England camp on a high after scoring twice and providing an assist in the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. He's 9/2 with Bet365 for anytime scorer and McBookie price him at 15/4 for an assist.
Anything else catch the eye?
It could be a cagey game as it's the first match of a long qualification group and a draw would be considered a decent result for both sides. The half-time stalemate came up in both Nations League meetings and is a good option here at 21/20 with Bet365.
Under 2.5 goals has landed in the last five meetings so it's no surprise to see that bet pretty short for this one at a best 4/6 with Bet365. That's not great value but betting against BTTS is a little better at 10/11 with SBK.
Paddy Power price Italy at 11/10 for most cards and that looks decent given the bet has landed in the last three meetings, with an overall count of 10-4. Veteran stopper Leonardo Bonucci picked up two bookings in those games and is 15/4 at Bet365 for another here.
Mancini's side racked up 12 corners in their last match against Austria in November so it could pay to back over 4.5 Italy corners at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This Euro 2024 match between Italy and England will be played on Mar 23, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Italy vs England prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
