England kick-off their Euro 2024 qualifying quest with their toughest match of the campaign tonight away to Italy.
The Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples may conjure memories the English would rather forget but if the Three Lions can navigate tonight’s match without defeat they’ll be well on their way to securing a place in Germany next summer.
The sides last met in September when the Italians came out on top at the San Siro thanks to a solitary strike by Sassuolo’s Giacomo Raspadori. That result all but condemned England to bottom spot in the UEFA Nations League group and relegation to League B.
Gareth Southgate’s squad came up short in World Cup quarter-finals against France, but their overall performance did restore a bit of pride and hope that this squad can compete at the latter stages of major tournaments again.
Italy missed out on the Qatar World Cup, it’s unthinkable that they miss out on defending their 2020 European Championship title too so the pressure is on Roberto Mancini.
Historically there’s never been too much between these nations whenever they meet. You have to go back to 2012 for England last victory over the Italians, but four of the last five have been drawn (after 90 minutes). In fact, just one of the last 17 clashes have been decided by more than one goal.
A one-goal winning margin for either side is 13/10 tonight whilst the draw is 11/5. Neither side will want to start Group D with defeat so a share of the spoils might suit both Southgate and Mancini.
Denmark boasted one of the best records in qualifying for Qatar and have lucked out with a weak-looking group this time around. Finland should be their closest rivals but the Danes are expected to swot them aside this evening at 3/10.
The match will bring back memories of the day Christian Eriksen collapsed during a meeting between the two in Copenhagen at Euro 2020. The Danes lost that 2-part match 1-0 so there’s a score to settle with the Finnish.
That 3/10 is way too short but Denmark to be leading at half-time and full-time looks much better at 20/21.
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Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Thu 19:45 San Marino vs Northern Ireland
- Thu 19:45 Italy vs England
- Thu 19:45 Denmark vs Finland
- Thu 19:45 Slovakia vs Luxembourg
- Thu 23:30 Argentina vs Panama
- Fri 19:45 Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Partick Thistle
- Fri 19:45 France vs Netherlands
- Fri 19:45 Czech Republic vs Poland
- Fri 19:45 Serbia vs Lithuania
- Sat 14:00 Scotland vs Cyprus
Golf Tips
It’s a busy week for golf with three events across the PGA & DP World Tours so The Caddy concentrates on the WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay but also provides tips for the Corales Puntacana Championship and the Jonnson Workwear Open.
Racing Tips
Chepstow and Sedgefield are the venues for Rizzel’s two tips for Thursday’s racing, priced at 4/1 and 9/4.
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Thursday’s Top Tips: Draw Will Do Duo In Naples appeared first on MrFixitsTips.
