Italy will begin preparations for their European title defence when they take on Turkey at the Stadio Dall’Ara in Bologna on Tuesday evening.
Luciano Spalletti is on a mission to eviscerate memories of the failed World Cup 2022 qualification campaign, and he could experiment as he seeks to cut his squad down to 26 players.
Goals haven’t been in short supply when Italy have faced Turkey, so this could be one for the neutrals to get their teeth stuck into.
Turkey, on the other hand, endured a miserable Euro 2020 where they were winless, and they will be looking to emulate their 2008 showing when they reached the semi-finals.
Anyway, to give you a glimpse of what to expect for this friendly, I have divulged a couple of betting tips to accompany my preview.
Italy to continue their momentum
Momentum is a precious and arguably treasured concept in football. Those who have it will feel like they have an edge, and it will inevitably give them confidence.
Italy go into their clash with Turkey, having lost just one of their past seven matches in all competitions, and that was a 3-1 reverse against England in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Turkey, on the other hand, have been rather woeful, with their last outing resulting in a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Austria.
More pertinently, Italy are undefeated in 12 meetings with Turkey, winning nine and drawing the other three, and while they were off colour at times during the qualifiers, that shouldn’t deter you.
Italy have proved to be good value for the neutral, with eight of their past 12 games seeing the Over 2.5 goals line met, and they have opened the scoring in their previous four home matches.
I’m thinking it could be a similar tale this time round, and I’m going with Italy to win and the Over 2.5 goals line to be fulfilled. William Hill has you covered with a shortish 13/10 price.
Giacomo Raspadori to give Spalletti something to think about
With the denouement of the Serie A campaign delayed, Gianluca Scamacca is unlikely to have any involvement with the Atalanta striker in action 48 hours earlier against Fiorentina.
This could give the likes of Giacomo Raspadori a chance to underline their talents.
Indeed, Raspadori, who hit eight goals in 24 outings in all competitions for Napoli last term, has already courted interest from Juventus and Inter Milan.
Turkey’s defence has been rather porous of late, so if Raspadori were to start, there may be ample chances that fall his way during the 90 minutes.
To conclude things, I have been a bit bolder and gone with Raspadori to grab a double. If you like the sound of that, bet365 is advertising a delectable 12/1 price on that particular outcome.
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