Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 prediction, preview, team news and more
The qualifiers for the UEFA European U21 Championship 2023 continue this week and Sweden U21 will host Italy U21 at Olympia on Thursday.
After a solid start to the European Championship qualifiers, Sweden U21 went back to back in the previous two international breaks and thus gave up the top spot in the group. However, they returned to winning in the last and beat bottom-placed Luxembourg 3-0.
The hosts are third in the group with 17 points in nine matches and must win on Thursday to keep their qualifiers alive.
Italy U21 has performed fantastically in their qualifiers so far. They reached a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg U21 in their last match and could have won by a larger margin with their dominant performance during the day.
The Italians are five-time winners of the continental showpiece and have been constantly present in the tournament since 2000, a race they will try to extend next year.
Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Head-to-Head
Thursday’s match will mark the tenth meeting between Sweden U21 and Italy U21. The hosts have won two of their previous matches while the guests have won five times.
There have been two draws between the two teams, including their last match which ended 1-1.
Sweden U21 Formguide: WLLWD
Italy U21 Form Guide: WWDWD
Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Team News
Sweden U21
Head coach Andreas Pettersson has no anxious injuries or suspensions ahead of their midweek match and should keep XI who beat Luxembourg last week. AIK’s Josafat Mendes has been called to the Sweden U21 camp for the first time and hopes to make his debut this week.
Damaged: None
Hesitant: None
Suspended: None
Italy U21
Destiny Udogie, Nicolò Fagioli, Roma loanee Riccardo Calafiori and Cagliari’s Raoul Bellanova are all injured and will not play here.
Damaged: Raoul Bellanova, Destiny Udogie, Riccardo Calafiori, Nicolò Fagioli
Hesitant: None
Suspended: None
Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Predicted XI
Sweden U21 Predicted XI (4-4-2): Samuel Brolin; Daniel Svensson, Aiham Ousou, Pavle Vagic, Eric Kahl; Patrick Walemark, Carl Gustafsson, Bilal Hussein, Isak Jansson; Rami Al Hajj, Amin Sarr
Italy U21 Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Marco Carnesecchi; Andrea Cambiaso, Matteo Lovato, Lorenzo Pirola, Giacomo Quagliata; Nicolo Rovella, Fabio Miretti; Emanuel Vignato, Gianluca Gaetano, Nicolo Cambiaghi; Pietro Pellegri
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Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Forecast
Sweden U21’s latest results ended a series of back-to-back losses. They have only lost one match at home since 2019 and will enjoy their chances before this one.
Italy U21 are on a series of wins against each other. They are undefeated on their last nine excursions over all competitions and have only lost one of their last 17. The guests are in much better shape before the midweek clash and should therefore come out on top.
Prediction: Sweden U21 1-2 Italy U21