EURO 2008 BETTING PICK - SPAIN V ITALY

Euro 2008

2008-06-22 - Spain vs Italy

A Sports Betting Pick by Cruiser

Analysis:

Italy comes up againt Spain here after barely making it out of the group of death but it would be foolish to write off the World Champions from this match just yet.

Spain on the other hand managed a 100% record in their group stages and as Holland showed last night, getting a 100% record in the group stages does not mean they can guarantee an automatic ticket to the semi-finals. But the last time they won the European Championships was way back in 1964 and it waits to be seen if they can continue their impressive performance in the last quarter-final match.

But when you take into account that Italy have not lost a competitive match against Spain since 1920, as Italy have a reputation to start slow and finish on a high.

Spain on the other hand has the tendency to play well in group matches before falling when it matters most. Spain did reached the knock-out stages of the World Cup back in 2006 before going down to France. In fact Spain manager Luis Aragones has a poblem of who to select for this match as the team are playing so well at the moment.

Aragones made 10 changes for the final group game victory over Greece where a number of reserves were given a chance to impress. The likes of Ruben de la Red and Daniel Guiza both scored for the Spanish side bu we are likely to see once again the duo of David Villa and Fernando Torres after scoring five goals between them, with four goals coming from Torres in the group stages. Defender Sergio Ramos will keep his place in defence, while Carles Puyol will return to the side after a foot injury.

As for Italy, Roberto Donadoni must find replacements for the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso as the duo is out on suspension. Massimo Ambrosini is expected to take Gattuso's spot, while Roma's Alberto Aquilani is likely to come in for Pirlo here.

Also misses out is defender Andrea Barzagli after a knee operation, but Alessandro Del Piero may return to partner Luca Toni in attack after he did not feature against Greece.

Take Italy and accept the 1/4 ball here.

Cheers and good luck,
Cruiser

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Take Italy not to lose this match.