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Italy vs England Bet Builder Tips: Thursday, March 23rd
Naples beckons as England gear up for a midweek international football offering to whet the whistle for the upcoming Euro qualifying campaign, and with that we’ve got Italy vs England bet builder tips to accompany Thursday night viewing.
In this article:
Italy vs England Preview
Thursday, March 23rd, 19:45 (UK)
It may not be the most welcoming of settings. The often hostile, confrontational, vibrant Italian city will act as host following a season blessed with footballing spoils not seen since the diminutive days of Gianfranco Zola and Diego Maradona in sky blue.
The Stadio Diego Armando Maradona accommodates a touch over 60,000 spectators through its turnstiles. Yet, Gli Azzurri hasn’t blessed its shores in ten years. So choosing Naples as the destination, a city back in love with its football and providing a bear pit-like atmosphere could flourish into a well-executed ploy to unnerve the Three Lions.
We’re yet to grasp how many England fans will be in attendance after sinister threats paint the landscape of the upcoming 90 minutes, so much so that a match between the two fan groups had to be called off following threats from Napoli ultras. If the scenes decking out the city’s walkways during Frankfurt’s visit in the Champions League is anything to go by, it’s probably a wise idea.
Regardless of where and whom, steering through said fixture from a betting standpoint is why we’re here. And that could be tough given the well-matched leading European sides both insistent on starting this qualifying campaign with a win. Luckily for us, there’s a host of options on bet365’s bet builder to sink our teeth into.
The Bet Builder section on bet365 gives us ultimate freedom when it comes to prop bets. We can break down prop markets like player tackles, assists, passes and shots. Adding overs for select players with a ladder of lines.
The goals market provides the most freedom to players. Picks can be broken down to over/under/exactly a certain number of goals. That can then be broken down to either or both teams as well as either or both halves. We’ll utilise that here.
Last time out for the El Clásico bet builder, we leant on team shots, offsides, and tackles as our angles in. However, in Naples, let’s look elsewhere.
Italy vs England Stats & Facts
- None of the last five matches between the two nations have produced more than two goals: 1-0, 0-0, 1-1, 1-1, and 1-1.
- The top two in each qualifying group will join hosts Germany and 23 others at Euro 2024. A further three nations will qualify via a Nations League playoff spot.
- Argentine-born Mateo Retegui is able to represent either Argentina or Italy, with the latter moving fastest in terms of a national team call-up.
- Group C also includes Malta and North Macedonia which each team will face twice.
Italy vs England Bet Builder
First up, Mateo Retegui’s player shots could be an interesting starting point. Recording 3.8 shots per game for Tigre (on loan from Boca Juniors) in Argentina this season has not only produced six goals in eight games but has also attracted the attention of Roberto Mancini, who is desperate to find a striker for the national team.
The noises emanating from Italy’s training imply there’s potential for Retegui to feature in a three up top flanked by Domenico Berardi and Lorenzo Pelligrini. If that is the case – this is his time to prove himself. With said two players on either side of him, you can expect them to act as efficient wide outlets, both comfortable on the ball and keen to get involved in the play, which should aid Retegui’s chances of pulling the trigger.
This is his time to shine, an opportunity to prove a point under the bright lights of the European stage. Get the ball to him, and I’d expect he’ll attempt to get a shot off if the opportunity arises. Nevertheless, if the 23-year-old striker doesn’t get his debut against England in Naples from the start, bet365 will void our bet and return the stakes in full.
Approaching the under-goals markets feels wise for our next choice. No more than two goals have been scored in the last five head-to-head meetings between the nations. That includes a 1-0 Italy win and a 0-0 draw in 2022’s Nations League – two matches that followed the 1-1 draw in the final of Euro 2021. Of course, the Italians would reign supreme at Wembley—penalties, once again, the thorn in England’s side.
I’d expect Naples to oversee a tense game for significant periods, with both sets of players keeping hold of the ball and unwilling to be too imaginative in the opening periods. This will be one that neither wants to lose to kick off the qualifiers, which may show how the game pans out.
If we get the under goals over the line, then there’s every opportunity that under 24.5 shots do, too. In the recent three matches, both teams’ combined total match shots were 24, 20, and 18. With Mancini not quite sold on a forward line to lead him into the biggest competitions, perhaps his focus will shift more towards being compact and hard to break down as the Italians so often are.
And to round off the bet builder, let’s go for Double Chance – England or Draw. Gareth Southgate’s current crop is more than equipped to avoid defeat in the most hostile settings. Overlooking the Nations League, England have only lost two matches in their last 25 competitive outings – versus France and, you guessed it, Italy on penalties. It’s a big ask for either to lock in three points here.
If I were to be pressed for a result, I’d hang my hat on a draw.
- Double Chance: England or Draw
- Under 2.5 Goals
- Under 24.5 Shots
- Over 1.5 Mateo Retegui Shots
Odds via bet365 as at 07:00, March 22nd, 2023. Odds may now differ.
