UEFA EURO 2020 – Turkey vs Italy Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When does Turkey vs Italy kick off? Friday 11th June, 2021 – 20:00 (UK)
Where is Turkey vs Italy being played? Stadio Olimpico, Roma
Where can I get tickets for Turkey vs Italy? Click here for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Turkey vs Italy on in the UK? BBC
Where can I stream Turkey vs Italy in the UK? This match can be streamed live on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website
HEAD-TO-HEAD
All matches: Turkey 0 wins, Italy 10 wins, 5 draws
Last meeting: Italy 1-1 Turkey (15/11/06)
THE LOWDOWN
TURKEY
- Senol Gunes has created a Turkish team that could genuinely fancy doing something special at this tournament. A strong team spirit, emergence of real quality players across Europe and a fairly comfortable route to potentially the semi-finals has created a lot of excitement around the Turks.
- A disappointing campaign in 2016 continued inconsistent form throughout the history of the European Championships for Turkey. Since their first qualification in 1996, they have reached the knockout stage of two, been knocked out of the groups in two and failed to qualify for two.
- The Lille trio, who were crowned champions of Ligue 1 last month, consist of Yusuf Yazici, Zeki Celik and the wonderful story and key man Burak Yilmaz. Yilmaz, Turkey’s captain, has a reasonable claim to have been one of the best strikers in Europe last season and with the likes of Cengiz Under and Hakan Calhanoglu supplying him, he’ll be confident of a strong tournament.
ITALY
- Italy’s progression to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 was remarkable. A squad that had been dubbed the worst in their history by Gazzetta Della Sport was drilled relentlessly by the supreme Antonio Conte but it was the start of an obvious, but short, decline. Failure to reach the 2018 World Cup meant a fresh start was needed and Roberto Mancini’s exuberant Italian side look like a potentially good story heading into the tournament.
- As with Turkey, they will look at their favourable route to at least the semi-finals as something to latch onto for hope of lifting their first Euros since 1968 which was hosted in Italy. They have played at nine European Championships and reached the semi-final stage, at least, on five occasions.
- The aforementioned exuberance of this Italian side is something that could excite and destroy cliches of their stubborn, catenaccio ways of the past. An interchangeable front three of Chiesa, Insigne and Berardi could be fielded should the two-time Capocannoniere Ciro Immobile be deemed unrequired. A midfield trident of Nicolo Barella, Jorginho and Marco Verratti is also one that should maintain that ‘easy on the eye’ style.
THE TEAM NEWS
TURKEY
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Cakır; Celik, Demiral, Soyuncu, Meras; Yokuslu, Tufan; Under, Calhanoglu, Karaman; Yilmaz
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
ITALY
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Bastoni, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Locatelli; Berardi, Immobile, Insigne
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE: Verratti (Injured), Florenzi (Injured)
THE PREDICTION
Despite being the home team and the fact that this is a new and exciting era for Italy - it is still a major tournament and nothing at all is straight forward. It could be quite an entertaining match with both sides capable of scoring but the pattern of play is likely to be dominated by a proactive Italian midfield and attack. The Turkish defence with Caglar Soyuncu and Merih Demiral will come under pressure but those are players more than capable of preventing a high-scoring clash. Defeat for either side would prove to be a nuisance given the tight nature of the group alongside Switzerland and Wales so a score draw would seem a tempting bet.
Tip: DRAW & BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
For fixtures, results, TV schedule, top scorers and plenty more, visit our tournament home page here!
NEW CUSTOMER OFFER FOR EURO 2020! Get £40 in bonuses when you bet £10 with Parimatch
