The most important national team competition on the European continent is looking for a new champion. Group C of Euro 2024 is by far the most attractive in the competition and its second match will feature the confrontation between Italy and Albania. The Italian team is defending its title, but this time it does not have an easy group at all.
Likewise, Albania will work to leave a mark in its second participation in the European Championship. The ‘red and black’ team faces a competition of this magnitude for the second time in its history, after what was done in 2016 where it was unable to overcome the group stage and only achieved one victory in three games. Now, sharing a group with Italy, Spain and Croatia they will seek to surprise the tournament.
Best bets Italy vs Albania
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Total goals: Over 2.5 — 1.95 at Rushbet
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3-Way Corner Handicap, Starts 0-2: Italy — 1.63 at Rushbet
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Italy’s total goals 1st half: Over 0.5 — 1.61 at Rushbet
All odds courtesy of Rusbeth, correct at time of publication and subject to change.
The Italian national team, the defending champion
Despite not having qualified for the last two World Cups (Russia, 2018 and Qatar, 2022), the Italian team has shown in Europe that it continues to remain relevant. After beating England in the penalty shootout, in the final that was played at Wembley, the Italians have added a streak of ups and downs adding the qualifying matches for the Euro Cup, UEFA Nations League and international friendlies.
However, for this Euro Cup the “Azzurra” has players in good shape, as is the case of Nicolo Barella who has been instrumental in winning the title with Inter Milan; Gianluca Scamacca, lethal scorer for Europa League champion Atalanta; Davide Fratessi young promise in midfield and scorer of the only goal in Italy’s last victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Therefore, it is possible to predict that in this match there will be at least three goals, given the present of both teams and the quality of their players.
Best bets Italy vs Albania
Photo:
Nicolò Campo / Alamy Stock Photo
The still ball: a quintessential Italian resource
Throughout history, Italians have been characterized by aerial power when it comes to dead balls. In this way, corner kicks are a functional tool for the team when it comes to reaching the goal. In 5 of the last 6 games played by Italy, those led by Luciano Spalletti have surpassed their opponent regarding corners, by an average of 4 corner kicks, in each of the meetings. In this way, it would be logical to think that Italy will reach a difference of 2 corner kicks with respect to its rival.
Last but not least, Italy has scored goals in the first 45 minutes in matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ecuador, Venezuela, North Macedonia, England and Malta. This statistic serves to contrast the forecast that Italy will score at least one goal in the first half.
