England U21 vs Italy U21 Prediction and Football Tips

Euro Under 21 Championship football tips – England U21 vs Italy U21 prediction

England should be able to welcome back Everton’s John Stones, after the defender missed the opening two games of the tournament with concussion. If fit, Stones will replace Liam Moore in the centre of defence for England. Elsewhere, Alex Pritchard is a doubt and could be replaced by Jesse Lingard.

Italy still have Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro suspended and that should mean Danilo Catadi keeps his place in midfield. Having kept a clean sheet against Portugal, the defence is likely to remain unchanged, with the only changes possibly being in attack.

Possible Line-ups

England U21: 4-2-3-1 formation: Butland; Garbutt, Gibson, Stones, Jenkinson; Chalobah, Ward-Prowse; Lingard, Hughes, Redmond; Kane

Italy U21: 4-3-3 formation: Bardi; Zappacosta, Rugani, Romagnoli, Biraghi; Benassi, Crisetig, Cataldi; Berardi, Belotti, Bernardeschi

• England U21 have won 8 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
• Italy U21 have won 3, drawn 4 and lost 3 of their last 10 matches
• Over the course of their previous 10 matches, England U21 have scored an average of 1.8 goals and conceded an average of 0.9 goals per game
• Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Italy U21 have scored an average of 1.8 goals and conceded an average of 1.2 goals per game
• There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 6 of England U21’s previous 10 matches
• There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Italy U21’s previous 10 matches
• The last time these teams met was back in Euro 2013 and Italy ran out 1-0 winners

Following England’s win and Italy’s draw in their second games of the group, both teams are still in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Italy have to defeat England, as they did in 2013 and hope that Portugal can beat Sweden, if they are to progress. England know that a win in this match will be enough to definitely take them through the the knockout stages of the tournament. A draw may also be enough to take England through but it will be out of their hands if that is the case.

England’s recent record against Italy is not good, having failed to defeat their opponents in their last 5 meetings. However the win over Sweden plus the potential return of John Stones, should give the team a much needed boost ahead of this game.

Neither teams has been finding the back of the net consistently in the tournament and it’s likely that a single goal will be enough to win this game. Harry Kane has yet to score in the tournament and this could be the game he finally hits the back of the net.

We say: England to win by 1 goal at 11/4 with Bet365

What are your Euro Under 21 predictions and football tips?