Monday Euro 2016 Italy vs Spain – Preview

June 27, 2016 18:00pm – Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Round of 16

Recent Form (all comps)

Italy: LWWWW

Spain: LWWLW

In the standout tie of the last 16, European giants Italy and Spain will go head-to-head in a repeat of the 2012 final which saw Vicente del Bosque’s men take the ultimate prize.

Italy will be looking for revenge after being totally outclassed in the final four years ago. Spain ran out 4-0 winners in Kiev to secure a second-straight European Championship title and will be aiming to make it three in a row this year.

The teams also clashed at the quarter-final stage of Euro 2008 when Spain once again prevailed – this time on penalties after a 0-0 draw. That game marked the first occasion that the Spanish had defeated the Italians in a competitive game.

Both sides started their group campaigns with two wins and two clean sheets, but both went on to lose their final matches. A much-changed Italy side were beaten by a single Ireland goal, while Spain fell 2-1 at the hand of Croatia.

Match Facts

• Spain have received just one yellow card in this year’s tournament compared to Italy’s 10
• Spain have completed nearly 800 more passes than Italy with a 92% success rate
• The Spanish have had twice as many shots on goal than Italy during this event

Prediction

In Alvaro Morata, Spain seem to have found the answer to their goal-scoring conundrum. They currently stand as the second-highest scoring team at the tournament and no player has scored more goals than the Spanish striker. He could prove to be the difference between these two highly-talented teams.

You can back Morata to score anytime at 7/4 with Betfair.

Betfair is our recommended bookmaker for all your Euro 2016 bets.