Italy v England predictions: Three Lions to land rare win over the Azzurri

Where to watch Italy v England

Live on Channel 4, 7.45pm Thursday

Best bet

England
1pt 8-5 Hills

Italy v England odds

Italy 19-10
England 8-5
Draw 11-5

Odds correct at time of publish

Betting offers

• Paddy Power are giving away free bets to new and existing customers and all you need is an account. Sign up here
• Sky Bet are offering new customers multiple free bets when they sign up. Click here for free bets, money-back specials and BuildABet free bets
• Betfair have lots of offers and money back offers. Sign up for a new account here
• To get free bets from Ladbrokes today, simply sign up to a new account here
• Don't have a Coral account? They have an offer for new customers here
• New William Hill customers can claim free bets and benefit from their daily offers including Scratch Of The Day by clicking here

Italy v England team news

Italy
Wing-back Federico Dimarco and forward Federico Chiesa have dropped out. Strikers Ciro Immobile and Giacomo Raspadori are injured, while Leonardo Bonucci is absent with a leg injury.

England
Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford and Nick Pope have withdrawn from the squad. Raheem Sterling wasn't selected.

Italy v England predictions

England can build on a hugely encouraging World Cup by kicking off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a win in Naples against Italy.

The Three Lions have failed to win any of their last six showdowns against the Italians, losing 1-0 in Milan as recently as September.

That was among the low points of a sorry Nations League campaign for Gareth Southgate's side which culminated in relegation to League B.

But since then they have shone in the Qatar World Cup and have little to fear from Roberto Mancini's European champions at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

This promises to be a troubled start to the defence of their title for Italy with Mancini complaining of a lack of strikers.

Indeed, there look to be weak points across the pitch but certainly up front there are issues with Tigre's Mateo Retegui uncapped, Matteo Politano without a goal for Napoli since October and Gaetano Scamacca short of game time at West Ham.

Ciro Immobile would have started, then Giacomo Raspadori, but both are absentees and Italy lack a clinical edge without the pair.

Mancini may well opt for a 4-3-3 formation rather than 3-5-2 so short is he of central strikers, while exciting talents such as Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo and Leeds' ace Willy Gnonto offer options out wide.

But, in short, this should be more about England, who have little to fear in what will be a hostile atmosphere.

It's little wonder that Southgate has showed loyalty once again to those foot soldiers who served him so well out in Qatar.

A dramatic overhaul was never on the cards which means most of the team picks itself.

There is pace galore through the side and of course frontmen in superb form, notably Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka with 23 goals and 13 respectively for their clubs.

Beyond that, James Maddison and Phil Foden are also in rich scoring form, while Jack Grealish is sparkling on one flank for Manchester City, just without the goals to show for those performances.

This is England's first game since they bowed out of the World Cup at the hands of France, a match they were desperately unlucky to lose.

They boast the pace, the zip and the self-belief to trouble any opponent and while defensive frailties are never far away, they look well worth trusting at the start of what ought to be a successful campaign.

Key stat

The last five meetings have produced just seven goals.

Probable teams

Italy (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Acerbi, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Politano, Scamacca, Grifo.
Subs:  Scalvini, Toloi, Romagnoli, Tonali, Pellegrini, Cristante, Gnonto, Berardi, Retegui, Pafundi.

England (3-4-3):  Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire; Trippier, Rice, Bellingham, Shaw; Saka, Kane, Grealish.
Subs: James, Dier, Chilwell, Henderson, Phillips, Maddison, Gallagher, Foden, Toney.

Inside info

Italy

Penalty taker Jorginho/Domenico Berardi
Assist ace Nicolo Barella
Set-piece aerial threat Mateo Retegui
Card magnet Francesco Acerbi 

England

Penalty taker Harry Kane
Assist ace Bukayo Saka
Set-piece aerial threat Harry Maguire
Card magnet Luke Shaw

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport