Euro 2020: Belgium vs Italy preview

The Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany will host the Belgium vs. Italy contest as part of the Euro 2020 quarter-final on Friday.

The Red Devils defeated defending champions Portugal 1-0 and while the Italians needed extra-time to beat Austria 2-1.

Both nations are still unbeaten in the tournament.

Head to Head Games

Belgium and Italy last met met in the group stage of the Euro 2016, held in France.

The Azzurri won that game 2-0 with goals from Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle.

Interestingly, the man of the match was Leonardo Bonucci.

Belgium have a slightly worse head-to-head record, winning three and losing four of the nine clashes between the two teams.

They have defeated the Italians just once, of the four encounters since the turn of the century.

Current form

The Red Devils are on a run of five straight victories and unbeaten in thirteen consecutive meetings across all competitions.

They have conceded just a single goal since the start of Euro 2020 and have kept a clean sheet on three occasions. 

Italy is currently unbeaten in thirty-one matches.

This is the longest streak in the country’s history.

On top of that, they have managed to keep a clean sheet in each of the previous twelve games. (In regular time)

Team news

Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne both came into Euro 2020 with injury concerns. 

Although the two players got a lot of minutes in the tournament, they were substituted in the round of 16 due to injury concerns.

Chances are they will likely not feature against Italy either.

This could be a big blow for the Belgians.

On the other hand, defensive lynchpin Chiellini is back in training for Italy and might be available against Belgium.

Another key player, Marco Veratti hasn’t looked at his best but Italy have a capable back-up option in Manuel Locatelli.

Top performers

Belgium: Romelu Lukaku 5 goals, Thorgan Hazard 3 goals, Kevin De Bryune 2 goals 3 assists.

Italy: Ciro Immobile 4 goals 1 assist, Manuel Locatelli 3 goals 1 assist, Matteo Pessina 2 goals.

Predicted line-ups

Belgium: Courtois; Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen; T. Hazard, Witsel, Tielemans, Meunier; E. Hazard/Mertens, Lukaku, Carrasco/De Bruyne

On yellow cards: Alderweireld, T. Hazard, Vermaelen

Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne

On yellow cards: Barella, Di Lorenzo, Pessina

Predictions

Had the Belgium team been fully fit, they would be hard to beat.

However due to their injury problems, we expect Italy to win the match 2-0.