Italy U21 v Spain U21 Prediction 18th June 2013

Italy U21 v Spain U21 Betting Preview
This will be the third UEFA U21 Championship Final between the two nations, and it is also a repeat of the Euro 2012 final as well, with Spain and Italy going head to head there. Both of the young sides have been defensively sound throughout the U21 Euro Championships, but Spain are the reigning champions and go as favourites to win this year. But Italy are the most successful nation in the history of the tournament, so will they be able to frustrate and upset the Spaniards? The final is being played that the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.

Italy U21 v Spain U21 Betting Odds at online bookmaker Paddy Power
Spain U21 4/5, Draw 12/5, Italy U21 15/4

Online bookmaker Promotion
There is some great sub-market betting coverage on the final of the 2013 UEFA U21 Euro Championships at online bookmaker Paddy Power. If there are more than three goals in the final, then the bookie will refund all losing First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast single bets placed on that match. This offer applies to single bets placed before kick off only and applies to 90 minutes betting only. The maximum refund is up to £100 per customer.

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Italy U21 v Spain U21 Recommended Bet:
The Italians have only conceded one goal in the Championships so far and they were relatively comfortable through their group. Italy scored an important victory in their opening match, in what was billed a group decider. The young Italians scored a 1-0 win over England, setting themselves up to take the group by the scruff of the neck. They looked in total control when they beat host nation Israel 4-0 in their second group match, but there was still some drama to come for the Azzurrini. Their final group match was against Norway, which was a group decider, and the Italians were losing until a dramatic 94th minute equaliser. That was a massively important goal as it mean that they avoided Spain in the semi finals. A goal from Liverpool striker Fabio Borini was enough to see Italy edge past the Netherlands instead.

Italy will be lining up a shot at their record sixth UEFA U21 Euro Championship title. But they will be underdogs against a Spain U21 side which is looking every bit as good as their full international counterparts. Spain opened with 1-0 win against Russia and Germany, before turning up the heat and crushing the Netherlands 3-0. It was the same 3-0 by which they beat Norway in their semi final match, so they are on cruise control. Not only have the Spanish U21 side not conceded a goal in the tournament so far, they actually have not conceded a goal now in their last thirteen international matches. With Italy only conceding one goal on their way to the final, it could at least be a tight affair.

There is immense talent in the Spain U21 side and they are living up to their billing as favourites. They have the tournament top scorer to call upon as well, with Alvaro Morata netting four goals in four games (scoring in three). The Real Madrid striker has opened the scoring in three of Spain’s four matches now, so he makes a good bet to warrant a wager on the First Goalscorer market at a price of 4/1 with online bookmaker Paddy Power. Over in the Italian ranks, the talent Isco looks to be a big threat from the Azzurrini, but where Spain have had one man score half of their tournament goals, Italy have had six different goal scorers in their run to the final so far.

The outcome of this could all be down to the resilience of Italy, will it be enough to frustrate Spain U21? This is a repeat of the 1986 and 1996 finals, with the honours standing at one apiece (both meetings though being settled on a penalty shoot out).

Form
Italy U21 LWWDW, Spain U21 WWWWW