Spain and Italy meet in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals for the second time in two years, as the European heavyweights lock horns on Thursday evening. Using Betfred’s #PickYourPunt feature, we’ve built a 11/2 treble for the occasion.
Spain vs Italy Bet Builder Tips
- Italy to win (90 mins)
- Both teams to score – No (90 mins)
- Over 39.5 booking points (90 mins)
#PickYourPunt @ 11/2
Thursday 15th June, 2023
19:45
De Grolsch Veste
Italy to win (90 mins)
This looks to be a closely-fought contest on paper, with half of the last 16 meetings between Spain and Italy resulting in draws.
The current sides look evenly matched too. Italy might have missed out on the World Cup, but they proved at the Euros in 2021 that they are among the continent’s strongest sides. Topping their Nations League group that included Germany and England further backs up that claim.
Italy got their Euro 2024 qualification campaign off to a bad start, going down 2-1 at home to England in March, but I fully expect them to respond here against a Spain side that are embarking on a new era, after Luis Enrique was shown the door after an underwhelming 2022 World Cup campaign that ended with defeat to Morocco in the last-16.
Both teams to score – No
Spain certainly have the attacking quality to cause Italy problems here, while their opponents have failed to score in only one of their last seven outings, suggesting there could be a few goals in this contest.
However, Spain are a work in progress under new boss Luis de la Fuente, as demonstrated in their first two games with him at the helm as they beat 3-0 Norway but lost 2-0 to Scotland in March’s European Championship qualifiers.
La Roja are still searching for a consistent goalscoring number nine, despite trying to fit goal-shy Alvaro Morata into that mould, while Mateo Retegui, who plays in Argentina, scored in Italy’s last two matches but it remains to be seen whether he can deliver consistently on the international stage.
The strengths of both teams lie away from their frontlines and at the end of a long season, there’s the potential for two tired sides short on firepower to cancel one another out.
Over 39.5 booking points (90 mins)
Both sides picked up at least two bookings in their most recent fixtures, so I think there could be a few cards given out on Thursday evening.
The semi-final meeting between Spain and Italy last year saw six cautions handed out, and Leonardo Bonucci went one better and got himself sent off.
A tense game can lead to silly mistakes, so I think backing over 39.5 booking points is the way to go here.
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