Euro 2016 preview and odds: Italy vs Sweden

Published on: 17/06/2016

Euro 2016 preview and odds: Italy vs Sweden

Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse - June 15, 2016

Group stage - Group E

Italy we be looking to secure their progress to the knockout stages of Euro 2016 when they travel to Toulouse to face a Sweden side in need a positive result to keep their campaign alive.

A win would put Italy through

Italy will face Sweden in Toulouse on Friday knowing that a win would put them through to the knock out stage of the tournament. Antonio Conte`s men surprised many people with their assured display against Belgium on Matchday One but no one in the Italian camp is getting carried away.

Sweden had to settle for a point from their tough opening fixtureagainst Republic of Ireland and Coach Erik Hamrén will be hoping for an improved performance on Friday. They did play much better in the second half against the Irish, and will need to carry that form into this game if they are to stand any chance of coming away with a positive result.

One Swedish player who knows all about facing Italian opposition is Zlatan Ibrahimović. The talismanic striker enjoyed his best years in Serie A and will be out cause problems for the highly-organised Italian defence.

The teams have been evenly-matched in their 10 previous competitive meetings having drawn two and won four games apiece. Both teams have been previously responsible for knocking each other out of the European Championships - a 2-1 win for Italy ended Sweden`s Euro 200 campaign, while a 1-1 draw four years later sent Italy packing.

Form (all competitions):

Italy: WWWLDDLWWW

Sweden: DWDDLDWWWL

Betting predictions

Italy were perhaps the most impressive team in the opening round of fixtures while Sweden failed to impress. The Italians look well-priced for the win at around Evens.

You can back Italy to win at Evens with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 17/06/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (17/06/2016 12:11:14) but are subject to change.