Italy - Albania predictions and free betting tips [15/06/2024]

The national teams of Italy and Albania will face off in Group B at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund. The match is scheduled for 22:00 GMT. Can Spalletti's squad justify their favourite status against one of the weakest teams in the Euros?

Probable Line-ups

Italy (4-2-3-1): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Alessandro Bastoni, Gianluca Mancini, Federico Dimarco, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Jorginho, Bryan Cristante; Lorenzo Pellegrini, Federico Chiesa, Giacomo Raspadori; Gianluca Scamacca.
Albania (4-2-3-1): Thomas Strakosha; Berat Djimsiti, Enea Mihaj, Mario Mitaj, Elseid Hysaj; Kristjan Asllani, Ylber Ramadani; Yassir Asani, Taulant Seferi, Nedim Bajrami; Rey Manaj.

Italy National Team

Italy is one of the most titled teams in football history, having won the World Cup four times. In 2021, the team won the European Championship by defeating England in a penalty shootout. The last time before that Italy reached the final of the Euros was in 2012, where they lost to Spain 0-4, mirroring their 2002 World Cup success. The team failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, marking a significant disappointment. Under the guidance of coach Luciano Spalletti, Italy suffered only one defeat in the Euro qualifying campaign — a 1-3 loss to England. Italy finished second in their group, six points behind England, narrowly edging out Ukraine with a draw in a tense match. In total, the Italians earned 14 points in 8 matches, having lost to Ukraine in the first home match.  In preparation for the Euros, Italy defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0, drew 0-0 with Turkey, beat Ecuador 2-0, and Venezuela 2-1.

Albania National Team

Albania, long in the shadows on the international stage, qualified for a major tournament for the first time in the 21st century, debuting at the 2016 European Championship. At that tournament, Albania finished 3rd in their group and failed to advance to the playoffs due to additional criteria. For the current Euros, Albania qualified by topping one of the weaker qualifying groups alongside the Czech Republic and Poland. Despite an unconvincing goalless draw with the Faroe Islands, Albania came out on top, surpassing the Czech Republic on additional criteria with 15 points from 8 matches, the worst result among all group winners.  In preparation for the Euros, Albania played 4 friendlies with mixed results. They secured wins over Azerbaijan 3-1 and Liechtenstein 3-0, but lost to Sweden 0-1 and Chile 0-3.

Head-to-Head

The head-to-head history shows Italy's clear dominance over Albania with 4 wins from 4 matches. In the last friendly on November 16, 2022, Italy won 3-1 (Di Lorenzo scored from the current squad). In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Italy triumphed twice — 1-0 away and 2-0 at home. In the friendly on November 18, 2014, Italy also secured a narrow 1-0 victory.

Match Prediction: Italy vs Albania

Neither team is eager nor capable — the match could take place under this motto. It's clear that Albania would be satisfied with a draw and won't press forward, conceding the initiative. How Spalletti's team will utilise it remains a big question. So far, Italy, in terms of squad and performance, looks very weak; I'll take a total goals under 1.5.