Italy v Belgium

Italy vs Belgium Preview

The other game being played in Group 2 of League A on Thursday night features this upcoming encounter between hosts, Italy, and their third placed visitors, Belgium, when the two nations clash at the Stadio Olimpico with Italy going in search of a third win on the trot, while Belgium will be keen to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat away from home at France.

Italy had previously produced a disappointing showing in the Euro 2024 finals when the Azzurri suffered losses at the hands of Spain and Switzerland but Luciano Spalletti's side have subsequently registered impressive victories against the likes of France and Israel, and even more impressive is the fact that both of these wins were recorded on their travels.

The two aforementioned defeats to Spain and Switzerland have been Italy's only slip-ups though in their previous 12 internationals in all competitions and having also collected no fewer than seven wins within this period, the Italians will fancy their chances of pulling further ahead at the top of the Group 2 table with a win here on Thursday night.

Results and form on home soil have also been encouraging from the hosts' point of view as Italy have suffered just one loss in their last 11 games while picking up eight wins in the process which will give Spalletti's side a welcome boost ahead of this upcoming tie.

Belgium sit in third place in the Group 2 table after the opening two games of the group stage and level on points with France heading into this upcoming encounter at the Stadio Olimpico as the Red Devils look to make amends for a previous 2-0 loss to the French in their previous game.

Despite being dealt recent losses to Slovakia and France (twice) though, Domenico Tedesco's side have been a tough unit to beat overall as the bigger picture shows Belgium have been handed just these three defeats within their last 21 internationals in all competitions.

The visitors have gained 12 wins within this period but it's important to note that six of these 12 victories have been achieved on home soil while results away from home have taken a turn for the worse for the Red Devils in recent times.

After putting together an impressive five-match winning streak on their travels which included notable wins against Sweden, Germany and Austria, Belgium have since failed to win any of their subsequent five games on the road with Belgium failing to score in four of these last five outings on their travels.

Italy v Belgium Verdict

Italy have taken the honours in recent meetings against Belgium as the Azzurri have won each of the last three encounters against their visitors and a fourth may be just around the corner here…

Therefore, our main bet will be Italy win @ 2.10

Other side bets worth considering:

Italy win & Over 2.5 goals @ 3.25

Correct Score: Italy 2-1 @ 9.00