Joe Rindl previews Italy's trip to Switzerland and he's expecting plenty of goals between Group C's top two.
Football betting tips: World Cup qualifiers
2pts Both Teams to Score at 21/20 (Mansion Bet)
European Champions Italy faced Switzerland in the group stages of Euro 2020, a match they convincingly won 3-0 thanks to goals from Manuel Locatelli and Ciro Immobile.
These two now meet in a World Cup qualifier on Swiss soil in a game which will almost certainly be more competitive.
Italy lead Group C with 10 points from four games, coming off the back of a 1-1 draw with Bulgaria on Thursday - their first tie since beating England on penalties last summer.
Switzerland are four points behind them in second but still boast a 100% record having only played two matches. A win for either side would put them in pole position to qualify automatically.
Kick-off time: 19:45 BST, Sunday
Switzerland 8/13 | Draw 13/5 | Italy 19/4
Italy will fancy their chances. They’re unbeaten in their past four matches against the Swiss with three wins and one draw.
And though Switzerland may boast a fine recent record of just one loss in normal time from their past 13 games, that loss was a convincing one to the Azzurri.
Italy’s stalemate with Bulgaria means they’ve now equalled Spain’s run of thirty-five consecutive unbeaten international meetings and few will back against Roberto Mancini’s team going one further on Sunday night.
Switzerland's last victory over the Italians was achieved way back in 1993 so the outright odds of around 3/1 for the hosts to win don’t seem worth backing.
Instead punters can find more value in the both teams to score market.
Italy have conceded exactly one goal in each of the last four outings, while goals at the right end saw BTTS ‘Yes’ come through in all of those games.
And that bet has also landed in four of Switzerland’s last five encounters. In fact the Swiss are BTTS specialists, each side has found the net in 14 of their 19 fixtures since the start of 2020.
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE at 21/20 with Mansion Bet is the play to make.
Switzerland v Italy best bets and score prediction
- 2pts Both Teams to Score at 21/20 (Mansion Bet)
Score prediction: Switzerland 1-1 Italy (Sky Bet odds: 15/1)
Odds correct at 2000 BST (03/09/21)
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