Italy v Greece (Free Play) - 19.45
ITALY V GREECE (SATURDAY)
Italy -1.5 Asian Handicap at 1.77 with Bet Victor – 2 units
I was optimistic about Greece’s appointment of the former Ajax Assistant Manager John van ‘t Schip but things haven’t worked out for him thus far
Since taking the reigns he lost to Finland (1-0) and drew with Lichtenstein at home (1-1)
Italy are far from their strongest in defence but with Greece having so many problems finding the net I don’t think they need to be too worried
Against Finland, Greece generated nothing of any significance, and against Lichtenstein, they scored just once after generating 1.5xG. The goal they scored there had a hint of good fortune about it too
Greece are without both starting CB’s Manolas and Sokratis for this match, other regulars such as Torosidis, Samaris, Fortounis, and Mitroglou are also not in the squad
Italy have improved in the chance creation department recently and I think they’ll put up decent numbers here again as they confirm their place at the Euro 2020 finals
In their last two matches (Finland and Armenia) Italy have generated an average of 2.4 xG per match and 20 attempts on goal per game
Earlier in the campaign, Italy traveled to Athens and hammered the Greeks 3-0 while generating 2.66xG to Greece’s 0.65
Verdict: This is a good spot for Italy, they are playing with no pressure against a side that can’t seem to function at the moment. Expect a dominant display with the Italians have a lot of success in front of goal