Italy vs. England Predictions: Back the visitors to win big in Rome on Sunday
The final game of the second week of Six Nations action sees us head to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, as Italy host England.
Italy vs England Tips
Both sides come into Sunday’s game after a defeat last weekend, with the hosts losing in Paris, and the visitors losing the Calcutta Cup clash against bitter rivals Scotland. With England having never lost a game to Italy, it’s no surprise to see that the English are as short as 1/100 to win the game, meaning that choosing two bets may prove more difficult than ever. There’s a number of changes for Eddie Jones’ side, as he looks to experiment during Manu Tuilagi’s absence. Nevertheless, we’ve dived into the markets, and come up with a couple of tips to go for this weekend.
First half, we’ll go with the second half to have the most tries, which is currently odds-on, so slightly smaller than 6/4 for it to be the first half. This bet has landed in each of the last four fixtures at the Stadio Olimpico between these sides, and only once since the move to the national stadium has it not landed. The first half usually starts out a bit closer, with Italy looking to get the home crowd on board and keep them driving, but in the end, tiredness and quality shows through.
In the last game between the two countries at this stadium in 2020, England ran over four tries in the second half, compared to just the one in the first 40 minutes. I expect the same to happen here, and am happy to take a small punt on this bet.
Second up, we’ve got England to win by 31-40 points at the end of the game. This bet is available at 10/3 with Coral and Ladbrokes, and 11/4 with BoyleSports, so the 7/2 shout with Paddy Power looks a good price. This bet has landed in three of the last five meetings overall between these countries, and two of the last three games at the Stadio Olimpico specifically.
In last year’s Six Nations campaign, Italy had three games at home, and the least amount they lost by was 38 points. The range for the three games was 38-41, showing that they tend to get blown over, but I’m hoping that the Italian crowd will keep up just under the 40 mark. Good luck if you’re following these bets, and please gamble responsibly.
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