Didier Deschamps is going through a stormy spell as France boss so he could do with a big win on the road in Italy as the curtain comes down on a stormy UEFA Nations League campaign.
The absence of star man Kylian Mbappe has dominated the talk in the past week, with rumours abound of a bust-up with the long-serving French gaffer. After his hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup Final came so close to delivering a second World Cup for Deschamps, it was expected Mbappe would lead Les Bleus into a glorious new era.
But a facial injury stopped him from making an impact at Euro 2024 as the French stumbled their way into the semi-finals before eventually losing to Spain.
Mbappe has only started one of France's Nations League games, the 3-1 loss at home to Italy which left them playing catch-up from day one. And his absence was felt on Thursday as Les Bleus failed to break down Israel in a 0-0 Paris stalemate that frustrated our man Andy.
That has left them needing a two-goal win in Milan to jump above the Italians at the summit of Group A2 and it won't be easy against a rejuvenated Azzurri outfit.
Luciano Spalletti has Italy purring again and after grinding out a 1-0 win in Belgium on Thursday they'll be looking to end their campaign on a high.
How the bookies view it: French to edge battle of the blues
This is a tricky one to call but Betano make France slight favourites at 6/4. Italy look worth a punt at 13/8 with home advantage in Milan and the stalemate pays 11/5.
Recent head to head: Azzurri out to the do the double
Italy's 3-1 win at the Parc des Princes back in September ended a three-game winning run for the French in this fixture, albeit all those victories came in friendlies. The last competitive meeting before that came at the Euro 2008 finals, with the Azzurri winning 2-0 after a first-half red card for Eric Abidal.
Players to watch: Providing a Mat finish
I flagged up Mateo Retegui as Italy's biggest threat for Thursday's trip to Belgium but it was midfielder Sandro Tonali who grabbed the only goal. I'd imagine the Atalanta man will lead the line again and he's 19/10 at Betano for anytime scorer.
Michael Oliseh started against Israel but went off with 20 minutes to go after failing to make an impact. Kingsley Coman replaced him and could be handed a start here, with the Bayern Munich man 13/8 at Bet365 to either score or assist.
Probable line-ups
Both managers might decide to freshen things up a little after being in action on Thursday, particularly Spalletti as his side had a much tougher game on the road in Belgium.
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Buongiorno, Udogie, Frattesi, Barella, Rovella, Dimarco, Raspadori, Retegui.
France: Maignan, Kounde, Konate, Saliba, Hernandez, Camavinga, Rabiot, Zaire-Emery, Coman, Barcola, Kolo Muani,
Anything else catch the eye?
The last meeting of these sides was a cracker and this game should be a decent watch as I'd imagine Spalletti will attack France from the off. I thought BTTS would be a lot shorter than the 4/5 on offer at Betano and it looks good here after it came up in the first leg to bring up a bet for our man Gabriel. Adding on over 2.5 goals boosts the odds to 27/20 while over 2.5 strikes on its own is also pretty decent at 21/20.
Even though the Italians were the away team in Paris, they managed to win the corner count as well as the game. It ended 5-3 to the Azzurri for flag kicks that night so it could pay to back them in the corner handicap here when the bookies finally price up that market.
Sparks often fly whenever these sides face off, most notably in the 2006 World Cup Final when Zinedine Zidane stuck the head on Marco Materazzi. It could pay to back a busy night for the ref here so go for over 47.5 booking points at evens with Betfred.
I'd imagine this game could be close and I fancy the score to be level at half-time, which pays 21/20 at Bet365.
This UEFA Nations League match between Italy and France will be played on Nov 17, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Italy vs France prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
