Italy allowed 34 shots and around 5.50 xG to the opposition in their opening two games, so I expect them to have a rough night against France.
Key Stats
- France have won 9 of their last 11 matches.
- France have won 4 of their last 5 matches against Italy.
- France have seen BTTS in their last 5 matches against Italy.
- Italy have scored in 12 of their last 13 matches.
116-Years-Old Rivalry
Italy were more successful in previous h2h's, winning 20 out of 41 encounters while France won on 13 occasions.
Two Narrow Wins for Les Bleus
France failed to impress in Zinedine Zidane's debut last Friday but collected three points against Turkey with a 1-0 victory in Kocaeli with Kylian Mbappe finding the net right after the break (suffered an injury later though).
A similar scenario and identical outcome were seen in the second round, also on the road against Belgium where Les Bleus got away with a 1-0 victory thanks to Michael Olise's late goal.
France allowed 24 shots in total across these two encounters and almost 2.00 xG, so they were a bit lucky to keep their net intact.
Mixed Results for Italy
Roberto Mancini took over the national coach role this summer and Italy were tagged favorites in his debut against Belgium last week, but they lost the encounter 2-0 in Rome due to awful defending (allowed 8 shots on target and 2.76 xG).
Azzurri bounced back though and earned a convincing 4-1 victory against Turkey in Izmir last weekend. Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Frattesi and Michael Kayode found the net in the first half, while Francesco Pio Esposito finished the job later.
Despite victory, Italy once again had a lot of defensive problems. Turkey missed three big chances, had 2.88 xG and fired 15 shots total.
Team News & Predicted Lineups
France (4-3-3) Mike Maignan; Pierre Kalulu, Dayot Upamecano, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert; Rayan Cherki, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue
With Kylian Mbappe sidelined through a knee injury alongside unavailable defenders Ibrahima Konate and William Saliba, France will likely turn to Ousmane Dembele to lead the attack flanked by Michael Olise and Desire Doue.
With Kylian Mbappe sidelined through a knee injury alongside unavailable defenders Ibrahima Konate and William Saliba, France will likely turn to Ousmane Dembele to lead the attack flanked by Michael Olise and Desire Doue.
Italy (4-3-3) Gianluigi Donnarumma; Michael Kayode, Gianluca Mancini, Alessandro Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori; Nicolo Barella, Nicolo Fagioli, Sandro Tonali; Sebastiano Esposito, Pio Esposito, Nicolo Cambiaghi
Visitors are missing Giacomo Raspadori due to a fresh injury, while welcoming back Nicolo Barella and Gianluca Mancini which should be a big boost in terms of experience.
Visitors are missing Giacomo Raspadori due to a fresh injury, while welcoming back Nicolo Barella and Gianluca Mancini which should be a big boost in terms of experience.