Pre-match Preview: EURO 2012 Italy vs Spain

The first match of group C will be the clash between two most recent World Cup’s Champions.

Since the glorious World Cup 2006, most of Italy’s squad have been changed. The golden generation now only left with Buffon, Barzagli, Pirlo and Rossi. After the unsuccessful attempt to defense World Cup title in 2010, Cesare Prandelli has been able to bring out a new Italy team. However, compared to 2 years ago, the current formation is rather weaker. In the front line, Matri, Gilardino, Pazzini, Di Natale, Giovinco have not quite reached the level of Totti, Vieri and Del Piero.

On other hand, the dark cloud of match-fixing scandal is still hovering over the Azzurri. Left defender Criscito were taken away of this, and mentality and morale might pose a big threat to Prandelli’s team. Italy fans are not hoping for a miracle like Calciopoli incident right before World Cup 2006.

In the contrary, Spain is still considered the number 1 contestant for the title. The experts still praise Del Bosque’s squad even with the absence of David Villa, who scored 5 goals during World Cup 2010 and the experienced central defender Carlos Puyol. The strength of Spain comes from their super midfield, considered to be the best in the world, and stable defense with the world’s number 1 goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

None of the team in EURO 2012, even Germany and Netherlands, can compare with La Furia Roja’s mid. Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Alonso, Busquest, Fabregas, are the super stars at the clubs they are playing.

Let’s take a look at recent form of both teams:

Italy’s strategy?

Prandelli might use a 3-5-2 formation, which brought about Juventus’ success last season. He has been putting this formation into practice many times.

Last August, he was able to get a win over Spain in a friendly match. There have been changes since then. Giuseppe Rossi was out since October with a broken leg. Antonio Cassano has just been back after the heart surgery. Lack of solid striker has made Prandelli call Balotelli, the trouble-maker at Manchester City.

Our Prediction

Although Spain was clearly the favorite in this match, history shows that Italy usually played well against La Furia Roja. Tracing back the score-line, the gap has always been very minimal.

Italy will be smart enough to play defense, just like the way Chelsea won over Barca this summer. The pressure to dictate Italy’s game will be rested on Pirlo’s shoulder.

With tiki-taka, Spain will most probably have a very high ball possession. However,Spain looks less sharp without goal scorer Villa, as Torres was sloppy in Chelsea.

Prediction: Spain vs Italy: 2-1

Betting Tips

Let’s take a look at 36BOL’s offers and odds.

 

This time, we put our trust on Spain as we believe Fabregas will score for Spain. Asian Handicap (-) 0.5 for Spain will be our pick tonight. 36BOL offers odds 0.94, which is better than a lot of other bookie’s offers according to our quick research. If you prefer a 1x2 market, odds 1.91 (Decimal) for Spain is not bad too.

Find more online betting odds and markets at 36BOL Sportsbook