Italy vs Ukraine Euro Qualifying Betting Preview

Tuesday brings an intriguing fixture in Group C action in Euro 2020 Qualifying between second-place Ukraine and third-place Italy. The kick-off is scheduled for 2:45 PM ET at the San Siro, which is the home to both Inter and AC Milan. This is the first of the two meetings between the Ukrainians and Italians in qualifying in Group C, with their next coming in November on the final matchday. Ukraine is coming off an impressive 1-1 draw with England, while the Azzurri settled for a disappointing stalemate by the same scoreline against North Macedonia over the weekend, too. Continue reading for the preview.

H2H History

In total, Ukraine and Italy have met eight times, but the latter has a clear advantage, which is no surprise. They’ve won six games, while the other two ended in a stalemate. As previously mentioned, there’s another upcoming fixture between them later this year.

Ukraine in a good spot

The Ukrainians are a regular in the European Championships in recent memory, appearing in 2012, 2016, and 2020. They even made the quarterfinals two years ago before a steep defeat to England. And by the looks of it, Ukraine has a fantastic chance of featuring in Germany next summer.

Through four games, The Blue and Yellow own a 2-1-1 record for a total of seven points, which is good enough for second in a group consisting of England, North Macedonia, Italy, and Malta. Ukraine notched wins over North Macedonia and Malta while their lone loss was to the Three Lions before holding their own against Gareth Southgate’s men on Saturday in Poland.

Despite controlling just 31% of the ball, Serhiy Rebrov’s side opened the scoring in the 26th minute as Arsenal man Oleksandr Zinchenko found his way past Jordan Pickford. Just 15 minutes later though, England did equalize but nonetheless, Ukraine can be proud of not conceding more against a very strong squad with no shortage of attacking prowess. That result should give them confidence heading into Tuesday’s affair with a country they’ve never beaten, despite being an underdog at most soccer betting sites.

Italy needs a win

It’s common knowledge Italy cruised to the Euro 2020 title and then famously missed out on the 2022 World Cup after a disastrous qualifying campaign. Now, it’s a new boss in Luciano Spalletti, who will be hoping to get the Italians back in the tournament. However, at the moment, they’re not exactly in a convincing spot.

The Azzurri have a mere four points from three games in qualifying, losing to England, taking down Malta, and then most recently, playing to a draw with North Macedonia. Italy absolutely dominated the run of play with 73% of the possession and found the back of the net first through Ciro Immobile. But, Enis Bardhi had another plan, helping his side secure a lone point against a superior opponent with a late equalizer. 

On a more positive note, Italy did show their worth earlier in the summer, competing in the Nations League Finals. They lost to Spain before beating the Netherlands in the third place match. This is still a very talented side but games like Tuesday are ones they must win if Germany is going to be a reality. Clearly, the sportsbooks believe the hosts will turn up in Milan, giving them -213 moneyline odds at 888sport.