Italy vs Albania Prediction & Tips
Defending champions Italy kick off their Euro 2024 campaign this Saturday at Signal Iduna Park (Dortmund). Given the difficulty of Group B, the Azzurri cannot afford to slip up against minnows Albania in their bid to reach the knockout rounds of a major European tournament for the fifth time in a row. The Transalpine side have kept clean sheets in their last two debuts in Europe’s top competition (Turkey 3-0, Belgium 2-0), something that cannot be ruled out in this year’s edition.
Luciano Spalletti, who took the reins of the Italian national team last September after the unexpected resignation of Roberto Mancini (Euro 2020 champion), lost two important defenders like Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini to injury before the tournament. Despite this, Spalletti’s team was able to keep a clean sheet in the friendlies against Turkey (0-0) and Bosnia (1-0), played earlier this month. Italy go into their debut having conceded just one goal in their last six matches in the European Championship group stage (G5, P1).
Albania comes into the second major European tournament in its history after finishing third in its group at Euro 2016, where it defeated Romania and lost to Switzerland and France. The Albanian team earned its presence in the 17th edition of the European Championship by finishing first in Group E (15 pts – G4, E3, P1), ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland. In the two friendlies played this month, the team led by Sylvinho won both matches with three goals scored in each.
We can expect a very tight match in which the Albanian backline will try to show the strength that allowed them to concede only four goals in the entire qualifying phase. It is worth noting that the Albanian team has conceded more than one goal in only two of its last 15 matches, although one of those two games was against Italy and resulted in a 3-1 defeat (2022). Making their debut against the reigning champions presents a major challenge for Albania, who have lost all four of their duels with the Azzurri since 2014.
Players to watch: All Italian eyes will be on Gianluca Scamacca, who has scored 19 goals for Atalanta in all competitions this season, 11 of them in the first 45 minutes. Sassuolo midfielder Nedim Bajrami will have extra motivation against Italy and has been directly involved in three goals in Albania’s last two matches (G1, A2).
Key stat: Italy has lost just once in its EURO opener (G4, E4, P1).
Italy – Albania FREE TIPS
Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.25
