England vs Italy Prediction & Betting Tips - International Friendlies

Prediction published on 24/03/2018, 17:14  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 28/03/2018 at 03:29 in Football Predictions

Gareth Southgate's England played well at times when beating a disappointing Netherlands side on Friday. They showed plenty of pace up front with players such as Raheem Sterling, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford. The upcoming World Cup may be too early for England to mount a serious challenge but give them a few more years then they could well be up there with the best. Harry Kane will again be missing and it'll be interesting to see who plays in goal. Jordan Pickford did well on Friday and is most likely number one at present, but Southgate is likely to give Pope, Butland or Hart some time on the field for ths game. England are unbeaten in their last seven games but if you are looking for goals, it's best not to be watching the English side. The last five England internationals have only seen three goals scored and the last two at Wembley have ended in goalless draws. With five straight clean sheets at least England are doing something right.

Italy are still getting over the shock of failing to qualify for Russia and sufferered another blow when losing 2-0 to Argentina in a friendly played at the Etihad on Friday.  That's three games without scoring for Italy and their last six games have only produced six goals. They will provide England with a strong test but have lost three of their last four away games. England may well experiment further in this game so a bet on the result is awkward but this doesn't look like being a goalfest so a bet on under 2.5 goals looks the best suggestion.