Italy v Austria betting tips: Impressive Azzurri head to Wembley

Austria are appearing in the knockout stages of the European Championship for the first time after Christoph Baumgartner’s goal secured a 1-0 win over Ukraine in Bucharest.

Baumgartner produced what proved the decisive moment with a 21st-minute finish as Franco Foda’s men leapfrogged their opponents to claim second spot in Group C.

Looking ahead to the Wembley showdown, Foda said: “It looks like the task is a very difficult one because Italy hasn’t lost in a while.

“But at some point you will lose a match and if we act and perform like today I think we have our options against Italy. We know how they play, we will find solutions and in one match everything is possible.”

Austria are 16/5 to cause an upset and 6/1 to win in normal time but have failed to score in four of their last six games.

A 4-0 defeat at home to Denmark in World Cup qualifying in March highlighted their limitations while they were beaten 2-0 by the Netherlands in their second group game when Austria only managed one shot on target.

Italy are 29/20 to be leading at both half-time and full-time or 31/20 is on offer for Italy to win by more than one goal.

Italy v Austria head-to-head

Austria have never beaten Italy in five attempts, with the first four of those coming at World Cup finals where the Azzurri came out on top every time.

The last competitive meeting was at the 1998 World Cup when second-half goals from Christian Vieri and Roberto Baggio helped Italy to a 2-1 win despite Andreas Herzog’s stoppage-time penalty.

Austria did at least avoid defeat against Italy for the first time in the most recent meeting, with a friendly in Italy in August 2008 ending in a 2-2 draw.

Previous XI

Austria: Bachmann, Dragovic, Hinteregger, Alaba, Lainer, Sabitzer, Grillitsch, Baumgartner, Schlager, Laimer, Arnautovic.

Key battles

Italy’s star men should return feeling refreshed and ready to go after being rested against Wales.

Ciro Immobile is a contender for the Euro 2020 golden boot after scoring in Italy’s first two games and will be looking to add to his tally, helped by the support he has received from Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Berardi, who has provided two assists.

A well-organised defence is shielded by Chelsea midfielder Jorginho so Austria may need Marko Arnautovic to produce a moment of magic if they are to finally end Italy’s perfect defensive record.

View the latest Euro 2020 odds

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication