High-flying Italy (ITA) will hope to make it four wins in a row when they face Austria (AUT) in the Euro 2020 round of 16. The Azzurri, yet to concede a goal in 11 matches, has netted seven goals in the group stage. Austria, meanwhile, grabbed hard-fought wins to seal their place in the last 16. Two late goals helped them beat North Macedonia 3-1 and defeated Ukraine by a solitary goal to secure the second spot in Group C.
Italy head coach Roberto Mancini faces a selection dilemma after Marco Verratti’s impressive performance against Wales. Mancini will have to decide between the playmaker and Manuel Locatelli, who scored twice against Switzerland. The front three – Domenico Berardi, Ciro Immobile, and Lorenzo Insigne – will be keen to continue their goalscoring exploits. They combined scored three goals and as many assists in the tournament so far.
Austria faces an uphill task against Italy, one of the favorites to win the Euro 2020. Franco Foda, Austria head coach, is likely to revert to a back three to nullify the threat of Italian the front three. David Alaba could be given an attacking role after clinching two assists so far. Former West Ham United forward Marko Arnautovic, who managed to register just two shots on target from five attempts, will hope to be more clinical in front of the goal.
Head-to-Head
Played: 36
ITA won: 16
AUT won: 12
Drawn: 8
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (Euro 2020 Group Stage)
ITA: M Locatelli (31 pts), C Immobile (27.5 pts), G Donnarumma (23 pts), L Bonucci (22.5 pts), Jorginho (22 pts)
AUT: D Alaba (29.5 pts), S Lainer (25 pts), M Sabitzer (18.5 pts), M Hinteregger (18 pts), C Baumgartner (16 pts)
Euro 2020 Stats
Top Goalscorer: ITA – C Immobile, M Locatelli (2 goals); AUT – C Baumgartner, S Lainer, M Gregoritsch, M Arnautovic (1 goal)
Most Assists: ITA – D Berardi (2 assists); AUT – D Alaba (2 assists)
Most Passes Completed: ITA – Jorginho (193 passes); AUT – D Alaba (212 passes)
Most Successful Tackles: ITA – M Locatelli (4 tackles); AUT – S Lainer (8 tackles)
Shots Saved: ITA – G Donnarumma (2 saves); AUT – D Bachmann (4 saves)
Injuries/Suspensions
ITA: G Chiellini (doubtful), A Florenzi (doubtful)
AUT: none
Playing 11
ITA (possible): G Donnarumma; G Di Lorenzo, L Bonucci, F Acerbi, L Spinazzola; N Barella, Jorginho, M Locatelli/M Verratti; D Berardi, C Immobile, L Insigne
AUT (possible): D Bachmann; S Lainer, A Dragovic, M Hinteregger, D Alaba; K Laimer, F Grillitsch, X Schlager; M Sabitzer, C Baumgartner; M Arnautovic
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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