Euros champions Italy take on a young Spain team this evening in the UEFA Nations League A Championship semi-final
Italy v Spain kicks off at 19:45 tonight, Wednesday, 6th October in the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, Italy. Russian referee Sergei Karasev will take charge of the game.
To watch the match, it will be shown live on Virgin Media Two and Virgin TV Go.
Roberto Mancini’s Italy has become the team to beat in Europe. With 25 unbeaten matches at home, they are a force to be reckoned with. Although, their form in the last international break was not as stellar as usual after drawing with Switzerland and Bulgaria before beating Lithuania.
The national team is still striving to make their team better even by the smallest margins. For this match, Puma has designed a jersey for the Azzuri that only weighs 72 grams. Maybe these tiny details could make the difference.
Spain has had an up-and-down summer. Their very young team surprised many by reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals after not looking too convincing in the early stages of the competition.
Now, Luis Enrique and his team will want to build. Last month they won two of their three matches, beating off Kosovo and Georgia but falling to Sweden.
This has been a very even affair in recent years. In their last ten meetings, there have been five draws, while Spain was victorious on three occasions, most recently in 2017. Their most recent match was the Euro 2020 semifinal which Italy claimed the win in a penalty shootout.
Italy Ultraweave 🇮🇹
In tonight's game vs Spain, Italy will wear a new version of their home shirt featuring 'Ultraweave' technology.
The shirt features less panels and less seams which means it weighs in at just 72 grams. It's Puma's lightest ever football shirt. pic.twitter.com/KYKUC4KiFz
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) October 6, 2021
Italy v Spain Probable Starting Teams
Italy
Formation
4-3-3
Probable Starting 11
Donnarumma (GK), Emerson, Chiellini, Bonucci, Di Lorenzo, Veratti, Jorginho, Insigne, Kean, Chiesa.
Injuries / Suspensions
Pessina (Hamstring injury), Immobile (Muscle injury)
Spain
Formation
4-3-3
Probable Starting 11
Simon (GK), Reguilon, Garcia, Laporte, Azpilicueta, Merino, Busquets, Koke, Oyarzabal, Torres, Sarabia.
Injuries / Suspensions
None
🗣"We will try to manage the game better."
Spain boss Luis Enrique previews their UEFA Nations League semi-final against Italy. pic.twitter.com/ZgzTE37QLN
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 6, 2021
Betting
Italy 6/5
Draw 19/10
Spain 13/5
Score Prediction
It would be next to impossible to bet against the European Champions when they are at home. With the unbelievable record of going 37 matches and counting unbeaten, it seems that they are unstoppable and this inexperienced Spain team will not change that.
Expect this game to end 2-0 to the Italians, setting themselves up for another final this year.
OFFICIAL: Ciro Immobile has sustained a muscle injury and his recovery time will be assessed in the coming days.
… Moise Kean to replace him in Italy.#JFC | #ITA pic.twitter.com/mIfaCecoHV
— Max Statman (@emaxstatman) October 2, 2021
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