Italy v Slovakia Betting Preview

Written by Dave Allan Tuesday, 22 June 2010 23:03

Betting Odds

Slovakia take on Italy in their final Group F game in bottom position in the group but unlike their opposition only a win will be good enough to provide a chance to progress.  Betting could have been very different had it not been for a last minute equaliser from New Zealand in the first group game but Slovakia were well and truly outplayed by Paraguay, who are very likely to top the table once the final phase of games is over.

Despite having scored only one goal in the competition so far Slovakia are likely to retain their 4-4-2 formation and hope to press Italy. If Vladimir Weiss can supply the ammunition from the right flank then it is possible that Robert Vittek and Stanislav Sestak could breach an Italian defence that is living on borrowed time.

He has been talked about at length but Slovakia skipper Marek Hamsik can be a key player. Hamsik has so far failed to shine but the Napoli player may well have a few ideas on how to get the best of players he regularly faces in a normal season.

In truth Slovakia have looked a very ordinary side and they will need to perform at their very best against a side who by tradition start slowly but somehow always manage to get past this tricky group stage. Slovakia’s team will all have to play well to progress further in the competition but they will be aware that this is probably the poorest Italian World Cup side ever seen.

Italy have not played well at all in this competition so far. It took a Paraguay goal to sting them into life in the first game and it looked like a corner had been turned when they changed to a 4-4-2 formation in that encounter, going on to equalise. The same formation failed to fire against New Zealand though. Ricardo Montolivo was unlucky with a shot that hit the post against the All Whites but Italy hardly threw the kitchen sink at the tournament minnows, who gathered another useful point that few would have expected.

The simple truth is that Italy do not have the star names and talents of years gone by but at least in this respect they will be delighted to see Andrea Pirlo the AC Milan midfielder back in the fold, having missed the first two games through injury. His eye for a pass may just be what is required to open the door for Italy who may only need the draw to go through depending on New Zealand either drawing or losing their game against Paraguay.

The fundamentals remain the same about Italy though. The Azurri are a good team who have players that are comfortable on the ball. There is age about them that some might exploit but the upside of this is the great experience they have as a collective.

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