Italy Vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
Friday 4 September 2020 – 19:45 Kick-Off
UEFA Nations League – League A, Group 1
Pick: Italy Win & Over 2.5 Goals
Odds: 19/20
Bookmaker: Betway
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 2 September 2020)
Preview: In a repeat of their duels during qualification for the Euro 2020 finals, Italy will take on Bosnia in the first batch of matches from the 2020-21 Nations League. Victory at the Artemio Franchi in Florence will extend the Azzurri’s best-ever run.
UEFA Nations League Betting at 22Bet
Table of Contents
Italy Preview – Can Mancini coax 12th-straight win from this team?
The Azzurri would not make it out of the group in the last, and only, previous edition of the UEFA Nations League, beaten into second by a Portugal side whose 1-0 win in Lisbon, back in September 2018, remains the last occasion this team would succumb to a loss. The latter run spanning their last fourteen internationals (W12 D2) and includes a record-setting eleven consecutive victories.
Overcome the challenge of Bosnia and the Italians will extend their winning streak to twelve matches. The omens are certainly encouraging. Roberto Mancini had overseen home and away victories over this opposition in the process of topping the group in Euro 2020 Qualifying, in which they won all ten qualifiers. The former Man City boss has urged his imperious charges to make the Nations League final.
Mancini also vowed to play good football, in his words. Italy scored 38 times across their current winning streak, on average 3.4 each game. While that figure is skewed slightly by the calibre of opposition on occasion (they put nine past Armenia in their most recent encounter), it is nevertheless an impressive haul. Nor has it meant abandoning their defensive principles: seven of those 11-straight wins were to nil.
Bosnia Preview – Dzeko & Co. keen to atone for Euro 2020 failings?
Planted in what is effectively the second division for the 2018-19 Nations League, Bosnia would earn their place in the more esteemed company of Italy, the Netherlands and Poland this time around following their promotion out of League B. Achieved without losing a game no less. Edging Austria to finish on top of a section which also included a Northern Ireland side that finished on zero points.
Things went decidedly less smoothly in their efforts to book a place at the Euro 2020 finals, though, which had to be postponed this summer. The Bosnians losing more games than they won (W4 D1 L5) as they finished a disappointing fourth of sixth in Group J, 17 points behind a flawless Italian side whose ten wins out of ten included scorelines of 2-1 and 3-0 in Turn and Zenica, respectively.
Dusan Bajevic, the Bosnia head coach, will hope his players can deliver a more accomplished display when the two teams renew acquaintances in Florence. Those hopes have sadly been dashed in the build-up, however, with news that several members of his squad, including Barcelona’s recent midfield recruit Miralem Prajnic, have been made unavailable. Fortunately, though, leading scorer Edin Edzeko is set to be involved.
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Italy Vs Bosnia Betting Advice
Under the former Inter Milan and Man City boss some semblance of national pride has been restored to the Italian national team. The Azzurri breezed through their recent Euro 2020 Qualifying campaign without dropping a single point, beating Friday’s opponents Bosnia home and away in the process. A repeat in Florence on Friday would represent a 12th consecutive win – the longest winning sequence in the country’s history.
Italy Vs Bosnia – Key Facts
- The Italians, who have won their last six internationals held in Italy, are chasing their 12th consecutive win.
- A fairly routine 3-0 scoreline in Liechtenstein in their latest away encounter marked a first away win for Bosnia in eight (W1 D2 L5).
- These teams are meeting for the third time, having encountered one another in the recent Euro 2020 Qualifying campaign. Italy winning 2-1 at home before a 3-0 success in Bosnia.
This will be a first outing for Bosnia since a frustrating Euro 2020 effort which seen them finish well out of qualifying contention after winning less than half their allotted matches. It seems unlikely, therefore, that the Italians sublime run will come to end here. The Bosnians are capable of contributing, though, having scored at least once in all but two of their previous ten matches, with Over 2.5 Goals landing in nine. Italy 3-1.
Best Betting Odds – Italy Vs Bosnia
Italy – 7/20 (Unibet)
Draw – 9/2 (BetFred)
Bosnia – 8/1 (Betfair)
