Saturday 17th November 1945hrs Italy v Portugal Football – International – UEFA Nations League It is make or break time for Italy in their bid to finish top of their UEFA Nations League group as they prepare to face the fourth a final group game against current leaders Portugal. There’s two points separating these two nations and the onus is very much on the home side to get a victory here and at least put the pressure on their opponents who will complete their campaign on Tuesday at home to Poland who are likely to be relegated. Continue reading for a match preview as Italy play Portugal with a best betting tip selected.
Robeto Mancini has only been in charge of the Italian national team for six months and this competition was always likely to be the first part of a period of transition, building to towards to what he hopes will be participation in Euro 2020. One of Mancini’s biggest challenges was to get the squad looking forward rather than focussing on the disappointment of missing out on the summer’s World Cup but it could take some time to get them on the road to future success if their games in the Nations League are anything to go by. A home draw with Poland was hardly the ideal start and they then lost out narrowly away to Portugal before getting their first win on the board courtesy of a last minute goal away to Poland last month. It leaves them up against the eight ball with their final match to come on Saturday and one they have to win to have any chance of finishing top. Even then it would still require Poland to get an unlikely result in Lisbon next week. Nevertheless, it will be a game they are desperate to win as Mancini continues his rebuild.
Despite having won Euro 2016, Portugal are like the other 54 European countries in that they have to qualify for the next European Championships which are a little over 18 months away now. Fernando Santos’ men have been very good in their Nations League group so far and are well on track to finish top of this section and reaching next summer’s finals. It’s maximum points from two games following two very different results having won that home game with Italy 1-0 before winning 3-2 away to Poland in their most recent fixture in this competition. Bearing in mind they are doing this without the services of their captain and record goal scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, and will do so again for these next two games. Although they will hope to be recall Ronaldo at some point – and I’m sure that will be the case – it will be reassuring for Santos to see how much more responsibility that his younger players are now taking on and they will need that over the next few days, however it does stand them in good stead for not only this competition but also when it comes time to defend their European crown.
Italy v Portugal Betting Tip
The first meeting between these two in the Nations League was a very competitive and closely fought encounter with Andre Silva’s goal proving the difference. It was somewhat apt for Silva who had something of a nightmare spell playing in Serie A with AC Milan but is now blazing a trail with Sevilla and also scoring goals on a regular basis for his national team. Mancini is still searching for the right balance in attack for Italy and continues to rotate his selection which is a clear indication that he is unhappy with the performances thus far. It’s something of an enigma as the individual players themselves are all effective for their clubs at a similarly high level of competition.
The circumstances surrounding this game are such that we should expect to see a fairly open contest as the hosts simply have to go for the win or risk finishing second in this group with a whimper. The danger to that is Portugal are exceptional on the counter attack and they have a coach who is extremely shrewd in setting a team up to play that way. Santos would have bene unhappy with the defensive performance of his team away to Poland but he’ll be expecting a similar onslaught on Saturday. Six of Portugal’s last eight games have seen both teams scoring and with the onus on Italy to attack, combined with them scoring in 23 of their last 25 home games, they seem set to score at least once but Portugal are more then capable of replying, making both teams to score the selection.
Selection: Both teams to score 21/20 @ Sportingbet
