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Italy will get their title defense underway against Albania at Signal Iduna Park in their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign opener on Saturday. Spain and Croatia are the other two teams in Group B, making it this edition's 'Group of Death'.
The reigning champions warmed up for the campaign opener with a goalless draw against Turkey and a 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this month, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to six games.
Albania failed to qualify for Euro 2020 and booked their place in the group stage this time as the table toppers in the qualifying round. Interestingly, they suffered defeats in their first two games of 2024 in March.
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They bounced back well in the friendlies earlier this month, defeating Liechtenstein 3-0 and recording a 3-0 win over Azerbaijan. They have made it to the group stage for just the second time and will look to qualify for the knockout round.
Italy vs Albania Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have met four times in all competitions, with two meetings being friendlies. As expected, Italy have been the dominant side in this fixture, winning all four games. They last met in a friendly in 2022, with the Euro 2020 champions recording a 3-1 win.
- Three of the four meetings between the two teams have produced fewer than 2.5 goals, with Italy keeping three clean sheets.
- The two-time Euro winners are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions, keeping four clean sheets.
- Albania suffered just one loss in their eight games in the European qualifiers. They scored 12 goals in these games while conceding just four.
- Albania have just one win at the European Championships and suffered two losses in the group stage of the 2016 edition.
Italy vs Albania Prediction
The Azzurri head into their campaign opener in good form and have won three of their four friendly games in 2024. They have kept clean sheets in their last three games and will look to build on this defensive form.
Luciano Spalletti's final squad has some notable absences including Ciro Immobile, Domenico Berardi, Marco Verratti, and Sandro Tonali. Still, he has a strong set of players to choose from and is expected to field a full-strength starting XI in this match.
Kuqezinjtë won their two warm-up friendly games with an aggregate score of 6-1 earlier this month and should not be underestimated here. They defied all expectations to top their qualification group and will look to build on that form.
They have quite a few players currently playing in Italian clubs including captain Berat Djimsiti, who plays for Atalanta, so they should be comfortable facing the reigning champions.
Nonetheless, Albania are yet to register a win against the 2020 champions, failing to score in three of the four meetings, and pulling off an upset against Italy is certainly against the odds.
With that in mind and considering Italy's rich experience in the competition, they should be able to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Italy 2-1 Albania
Italy vs Albania Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Italy to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Federico Chiesa to score or assist any time - Yes
