Italy v Romania - Expert Selection

Italy v Romania
Euro 2008 – Group C

Friday 13 June, 5pm (UK time)

Italy and Romania have met each other on 14 previous occasions with Italy winning 10 times and Romania twice. They have played each other seven times in competitive matches with five wins for Italy and one for Romania.


In the quarter-finals of Euro 2000, Italy won 2-0 with goals from Francesco Totti and Filippo Inzaghi.


Romania's last win over Italy is now nearly 20 years ago, a 1-0 friendly win in March 1989. Current Italy head coach Roberto Donadoni played in that defeat.


Donadoni will shake up his team up by making at least three changes from the side which suffered an opening 3-0 loss to the Netherlands.


Striker Alessandro Del Piero and defender Giorgio Chiellini will start, meaning Antonio Di Natale and Marco Materazzi are likely to be dropped. Daniele de Rossi and left-back Fabio Grosso are also pushing for a place.


Romania striker Ciprian Marica has a head injury but could replace Daniel Niculae up front if he is passed fit.


Italy will be eliminated if they lose to Romania following the Dutch defeat and, though they have never lost twice in one European Championship, Donadoni says the time is right to take a gamble.
We can see the Italians getting a bit further in this tournament and we think they will win – but at 4/6 we’re not going to get rich betting on the outright. It is worth taking a chance on the Half-Time/Full-Time result in our opinion.

Betting Recommendation:
2pts Italy/Italy in the Half-Time/Full-Time market at 7/4