Holland to stifle Italy in Bergamo
The two top sides in Group 1 of League A of the Nations League go head-to-head on Wednesday evening with Italy hosting Holland at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, the home of Atalanta. Roberto Mancini’s men have a respectable five points from three outings and top the tree with Holland second on goals scored ahead of Poland with four points. Nicolo Barella was the match winner in the reverse fixture, scoring the only goal of the game in first half stoppage time. Despite reaching the Nations League final last time around, the Dutch are outsiders in this one with the hosts expecting to press on towards qualification to the last four.
Background
Italy’s last seven matches have all seen under 2.5 goals and even with that blunt attack they have won six of their last seven keeping a clean sheet on six of those occasions. The unders market looks increasingly appetising given the fact Holland have not scored in their last three however the Italians have been superior in the past, unbeaten in the last six meetings between the two nations and 15 internationals in all.
One to watch
Let’s focus on the difference maker from the last meeting in Inter Milan’s all action midfielder Barella. The 23-year-old is not a goalscoring midfielder, he contributes just as much out of possession and with his ball carrying ability, though having said that his goal involvements can be admired by many an Italian midfield general. He signed from Cagliari initially on loan in the summer of 2019 with a hefty up front fee in excess of £10million and now having been confirmed as a permanent signing under Antonio Conte has gone from strength to strength. Barella could also do a job at the base of midfield and is approaching 150 Serie A appearances at 23 in impressive and speaks volumes to the commitment and longevity we can expect from him. Alongside Marco Verratti and Jorginho in a central trio, Italy could boss this game for 90 minutes.
Prediction
This youthful Holland side would be content to take away a point from Italy and in that may attempt to stifle them in order to sustain their push to top Group 1. They were unable to breach the rearguard action of Bosnia and Herzegovina last time out, suggesting that getting past Francesco Acerbi and Leonardo Bonucci looks somewhat of a pipe dream. They are much stronger in defensive areas.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
We were made to sweat with this one as it was 1-1 after 25 minutes, but so it stayed and we cling on to a win to kick off the week.