Italy vs. England Betting Tips: Saka to find the net in Naples

Live on Channel 4, Italy host England in the Euro 2024 Qualifiers this Thursday at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples. Tipster Wizard has provided us with his best bets for the game which includes a 9/2 poke.

The hosts are looking to defend their continental crown after beating England on penalties in the final at the Wembley Stadium in 2020. Despite being the European Champions, Italy fell short of qualifying for the World Cup Finals after losing to North Macedonia in the play-off semi-finals. This was the second consecutive World Cup that they missed after last qualifying for it in 2014. 

On the bright side, they have a Nations League campaign to look forward to where they topped their group, to set up a semi-final against Spain and have a great chance of lifting another piece of silverware. Italy have won 14 consecutive qualifiers and are unbeaten in 40 so they will head into this game with confidence despite the World Cup heartbreak. 

As for the visitors, it was a heartbreaking Quarter Final exit in the World Cup with Harry Kane missing a crucial second penalty which could have brought them level. The Three Lions were also relegated from the Nations League A to division B, and the faith in manager Gareth Southgate will certainly be tested if the wait for silverware continues for too long. 

However, England have won 17 of their last 18 Euros qualifiers and Gareth Southgate could become only the 3rd manager in history to win 50 games as an England manager if he manages to beat the Azzurri on Thursday.

• Euro 2024 Winner Odds

Team News:

Ivan Provedel & Giacoma Raspadori are out for Italy.

Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount & Nick Pope are out for England.

Italy possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Acerbi, Romagnoli, Spinazzola; Barella, Verratti, Jorginho; Berardi, Retegui, Grif

England Palace possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Henderson, Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Grealish

Italy’s squad for this qualifier lacks experience in the attacking front, with star striker Ciro Immobile, Federico Chiesa & Raspadori all not involved here. The Azzurri have called up four uncapped players into their squad for this game while England are expected to field a strong side similar to the one that played the World Cup quarter-final against France. 

With Harry Kane, Saka and Bellingham scoring goals for fun for their clubs in recent weeks, The Three Lions will certainly have an edge in the attacking department and that pushes me towards backing England on a 0.0 asian handicap which is the same as England Draw No Bet where stakes will be fully refunded in case of a draw. We are getting 9/10 with bet365 or many other betting sites for this selection and I am happy to stake 1pt on it as our main selection for this game.

Bukayo Saka scored a brace for Arsenal in his last appearance for Arsenal in the Premier League this past weekend and is their second top scorer with 12 goals in 28 games. He also scored three goals in four appearances at the World Cup for England, so a price of 9/2 is too big for him to score anytime here.