Northern Ireland capable of surprising Italy
Italy haven't lost a qualifying match in over four years and consequently are [1.77] favourites to get the better of Northern Ireland in their Euro 2012 qualifier at Windsor Park tonight, but we think there's a compelling case for the Azzurri lay at [1.78].
Both teams head into this evening's clash with 100 per cent records, however the hosts' is far more impressive - they won 1-0 away in Slovenia whereas Italy achieved widely expected victories against Estonia and Faroe Islands.
Doubts also remain as to whether Italy are truly back on track after their disastrous World Cup campaign. Last month's unsurprising successes were their first of 2010 after seven games without a win and were preceded by a 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast at West Ham's Boleyn Ground.
Cesare Prandelli has understandably decided to completely overhaul the squad that failed miserably under Marcello Lippi in South Africa, though a transitional period is unavoidable after such vast changes.
The former Fiorentina boss criticised the lack of emerging stars in Serie A after being forced to recall Gianluca Zambrotta and two of his starters in Belfast have been boldly restored from the international wilderness, with Stefano Mauri and Marco Borriello last capped in November 2004 and February 2008 respectively.
Of course, Prandelli's decision to bring Antonio Cassano back into the fold has been rewarded handsomely with two goals already, yet the risk is provided by fielding so many players lacking experience with one another, as they will almost certainly take time to gel.
In addition to Italy's dilemmas, Northern Ireland recent home form is quite stunning. Everyone knows about the triumphs over England, Spain, Sweden and Denmark but their overall record also stands up, with just one defeat suffered in their last ten competitive encounters at Windsor Park.
Northern Ireland v Italy
Kick-off: 7.45pm
Live on Sky Sports 1
Think Nigel Worthington's men can take all three points? Then back them at [5.9]...
Published: 8 Oct 2010
badmash (October 23, 2010 12:30 PM) said:
I just signed up to your blogs rss feed. Will you post more on this subject?
Betfair Football (October 25, 2010 8:17 AM) said:
Hi badmash, thanks for the comment. What kind of stories are you looking for? We tend to do previews of all Northern Ireland's qualifiers as well as reactions where possible, though if there are other areas you feel are being neglected then please let us know.