Spain v Italy Betting Odds, Preview and Predictions – Confederations Cup

Spain v Italy Betting Preview
An all-European semi final to complement the first semi final of the 2013 Confederations Cup which will be between Brazil and Uruguay on Wednesday. Spain v Italy kicks off on Thursday, and it is the reigning World and European champions who are strong favourites to take this meeting after progressing to the knockouts without too many scares. However, Italy may be buoyed after their performance against Brazil, which they lost but had the host nation rattled over the ninety minutes. But their chances have been hit with the loss of the in-form Mario Balotelli to injury.

Spain v Italy Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet Victor
Spain 4/11, Draw 7/2, Italy 7/1

Online bookmaker Promotion
There is some insurance to take on all Confederations Cup betting at online betting site Bet Victor. Their promotion comes in the form of a Red Card Refund. If any player is shown a red card in a Confederations Cup match, then the bookie will refund all losing Correct Score, First Goalscorer, last Goalscorer, Scorecast and Half Time/Full Time bets on that particular match up a maximum of £25. There is up to a free £25 bet available for new customers registering an account with online betting site Bet Victor, as the bookie will match the value of your first settled bet on an account.

Spain v Italy Recommended Bet:
Can anyone stop Spain at the moment on their long unbeaten streak? Even host nation Brazil themselves may struggle against Spain if they meet in the final. Spain have gotten the job done professionally and efficiently so far in getting to the knockout stage, and you always get the feeling that there is even more to come. They opened up the 2013 Confederations Cup with a 2-1 win over Uruguay, before hitting Tahiti for ten thanks to heavy input from Fernando Torres and David Villa. That left them to face the challenge of Nigeria in their final group match, ending just a point to secure top spot. They got all three as it happened, taking a 3-0 victory. However, the African side did have some chances to get Spain rattled, but some poor finishing again hurt the Super Eagles. However, there is always an air of confidence that Spain will find a goal from somewhere, that they can find another gear if they have to.

Their next test now will come against Italy, who they beat in the final of Euro 2012 of course, convincingly too, by a 4-0 scoreline. Are we all being set up for a massive Spain v Brazil clash in the final here? Spain just have great options, plenty of depth which they can call upon, and who integrate into the side seamlessly, so that they don’t miss a bit. Fernando Torres has looked confident in front of goal for them, and actually without Xabi Alonso, they have looked a bit more dynamic and keen to get forward from the middle of the pitch as well. Their possession game is there, but they will be challenged by Italy. Just as Spain like to annoy opponents by a high pressing game, Italy do the same thing. The loss of lone striker Balotelli could be costly to them though. Especially if they can’t get Andrea Pirlo back in the middle of the pitch, because they missed the old master against Brazil.  Italy though can take a lot of heart from their performance against Brazil, because they could have tied the match up at 3-3, being stopped by the crossbar only, before the host nation killed the game off to make it 4-2.

Still, Cesare Prandelli’s men never stopped pushing and did find some control in the middle of the park as well. Are Spain better in the midfield area than Brazil though? Yes, by far, so Italy may need to adapt. Prandelli has already said that he needs his side to get more compact and that the absence of lone striker Balotelli may force a tactical change. Italy are good on the break, they can get forward at pace, but really need the precision of Pirlo, who makes a huge difference to their balance. Even with the positives that Italy have produced, if not defensively, but going forward, all betting still has to lean towards Spain at the end of the day. This is the business end of a tournament and that is usually when they get even better.

The Spain v Italy head to head is evenly split at eight wins apiece from 27 encounters. They met twice last year at Euro 2012, producing a 1-1 draw in the group stage and then the Spaniards running out 4-0 winners when they met in the final again. In actual competitive tournament matches, Italy have won three of eight meetings at the European Championships and World Cup. Half of those eight matches ended in draws though, which means that Italy have the upper hand 3-2 in tournament matches.