Italy VS Saudi Arabia Match Prediction
2018-05-28
18:45:00
Italy
VS
Saudi Arabia
Our Prediction Tip
Italy will win this match.
2018-05-2818:45:00 Italy will win this match.
Italy and Saudi Arabia will play for the first time in St. Gallen.
%HEAD-TO-HEAD-STATS-BANNER%Bet365 have the following odds available for this match:
Italy are at 1/6 to win, a draw is at 11/2, and a Saudi Arabia win is at 18/1.
Italy will not be at the World Cup this season, and at the time it happened it was a major shock. The Italians were given a very tough draw in the group stages of UEFA qualification, paired up with Spain, and they were not able to overcome that test. They finished second, still with a ton of points and cushion over third place Albania, but they would have to go through the continental playoffs to have any hope of punching their ticket. In that playoff, they met a young, hungry Sweden side. They lost 1-0 in the first leg in Sweden, and they never could get on the score sheet in the second, seeing them miss out on the big event for the first time since 1958 and the second time overall. As for Saudi Arabia, they had things slightly, well quite a bit, easier than Italy. They started in the second round in Group A. They would win the group with 20 points, a comfortable margin, failing to lose a single match, to progress to the third round. From there, they were placed in Group B along with Japan and Australia. They would finish second, on 19 points, due to a goal difference advantage over the Aussies, sending them straight to Russia without having to go through any playoffs like the Socceroos did.
In the last year, Italy have four wins, two draws, and three losses to their credits. Three of their four wins came on Italian soil, and all four of them were shutouts. When they keep teams from scoring, they are as good as anyone, and they seem to always be. But that didn't work when Sweden essentially took their own blueprint from them to take their place in Russia from them. In the last four games they have played, they have failed to win, collecting two draws and two losses. The Saudis, meanwhile, have seven wins, two draws, and eight losses in the past year. They had lost three games running in February and March, but they have bounced back recently with wins over Algeria and Greece consecutively. They do tend to struggle against big time European opposition, though, as their loss to Portugal points out.
The Saudis are a little unpredictable when it comes to facing European sides. They beat Greece last time out, but they were thumped by Belgium recently as well. Italy, on their day, are closer to Belgium, so they should be winning here.
Roberto Mancini will be taking charge of his very first game as Italy manager, and in so doing he has made a statement by naming his team. Amongst the inclusions are a few fresh faces, but the most notable call up has got to be controversial striker Mario Balotelli, who had not been called up since 2014. At the back, a new leaf looks to be turned over as only Leonardo Bonucci of the old guard is in this squad. Stars that will not partake include Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, and Antonio Candreva among others.
While Mancini has always had a love/hate relationship with Super Mario, it would be absolutely fanciful to see him thrown into the first XI right away. He's had a good season, but it's not been at the level of sharpshooting Ciro Immobile. The Lazio man narrowly missed out on Champions League participation next season but enjoyed his best season ever. He's scored seven times for his country in 32 appearances, but his 29 in Serie A alone this season suggests he can do much better.
Italy have two draws, two losses, and a win in their last five matches:
1-1 draw at England
2-0 loss vs Argentina
0-0 home draw vs Sweden (WCQ Playoffs)
1-0 loss at Sweden (WCQ Playoffs)
0-1 win at Albania (WCQ)
Juan Antonio Pizzi is still in the process of weeding out his squad for the World Cup, so they still have a larger preliminary squad with them for the moment. Some big name players with bags of experience have been left out, including goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah (72 caps), defenders Hassan Muath (68) and Abdullah Al-Zori (58), midfielders Mohammed Al-Shalhoub (118), and forward Nasser Al-Shamrani (78).
A lot of big time scorers have made their way to the World Cup in the past, but it has oftentimes proven to be very difficult for the ones from smaller nations to keep up their scoring rate. Such will be the task ahead for Mohammad Al-Sahlawi, the talismanic striker for the Saudis. He has scored 28 times in 38 caps for them down the years and at 31 this is his best time to step up in a big way. Italy may not be in the event this summer, but doing well against them could do a lot for him and his side.
Saudi Arabia have two wins, two losses, and a draw in their last five matches:
2-0 home win vs Greece
2-0 home win vs Algeria
4-0 loss at Belgium
1-1 home draw vs Ukraine
4-1 loss at Iraq
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