Belgium vs Italy Prediction: Wullaert to serve reminder to Serie A rivals

Belgium Women and Italy Women start their Uefa Women's Euro 2025 campaigns on Thursday (17:00 BST, BBC iPlayer), meeting each other at the Stade de Tourbillon in Sion.

Below are my Belgium vs Italy predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this Group B opener in Switzerland.

Team News

Lisa Lichtfus (Le Havre) and Nicky Evrard (PSV Eindhoven) played a half each in Belgium's final friendly, a 2-0 win against Greece last Thursday, but it's the former who is likely to get the nod between the sticks, having started the previous two friendlies and all 10 of her nation's qualifiers.

In defence, expect to see an all-Women's Super League back three of Amber Tysiak (West Ham United), Sari Kees and Janice Kayman (both Leicester City).

Football Odds

Moving into midfield, Justine Vanhaevermaet (Everton) and Jarne Teulings (Feyenoord) should start, and in attack, all-time record goalscorer Tessa Wullaert (Inter Milan) will lead the line.

Italy are also expected to line up with three in defence, with Lucia Di Guglielmo (AS Roma), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus) and Elana Linari (AS Roma) in front of shot-stopper Laura Giuliani (AC Milan).

Thirty-five-year-old forward Cristiana Girelli (Juventus) will hope her brace in the Azzurre's 4-1 Uefa Nations League victory over Wales last month is enough to land her a start on Thursday.

Belgium vs Italy Odds

Belgium have won the last three head-to-heads, the most recent of which was an 2-1 victory in the Arnold Clark Cup in February 2023, yet Elisabet Gunnarsdottir's side are 16/5 underdogs on Thursday, implying a 23.8% probability of success, while Italy are 5/6, or a 54.5% chance, to claim all three points.

The draw is priced at 11/4, both teams to score at 4/6, and over 2.5 total goals at 8/11.

Girelli (13/10) heads the anytime goalscorer market ahead of teammate and Inter forward Michela Cambiaghi (7/4), with Wullaert (21/10) first up for the Belgian Red Flames.

Anytime Goalscorer - Tessa Wullaert (BEL) @ 21/10

Wullaert enjoyed a successful first season at Inter, following her summer move from Fortuna Sittard, scoring 10 goals in 23 Serie A appearances - three more than any of her teammates.

The 32-year-old ended the club campaign with five strikes in her final eight games: three against Milan, one against Juventus, and one against Roma.

Wullaert will know Italy's defenders well, having played against them numerous times this season and enjoying recent success against their clubs.

Today's Football Fixtures

She's warmed up nicely for the Euros, bagging a brace in a 3-0 victory over Portugal on June 3 and opening the scoring in the 2-0 win against Greece last week.

Wullaert has scored 93 goals in 146 caps, and she'll be looking to close in on a century of strikes by the tournament's close. I believe she can get at least one goal closer to 100 on Thursday, by getting the better of Italy's back line.

Total Goals - Over 2.5 @ 8/11

Italy weren't involved in many high-scoring games in qualification, as two of their six matches finished goalless, and a further two went under 2.5 goals.

However, in their recently-concluded Nations League campaign, four of their six contests ended with three or more goals.

Belgium, meanwhile, saw over 2.5 strikes land in six of their 10 Euro 2025 qualifiers, and five of their six Nations League games, while they were thrashed 5-0 in a friendly by France last month.

Thursday's match sees two of Serie A's most prolific forwards, Wullaert and Girelli, who won this season's Golden Boot with 19 goals, square off against each other, so I'm hopeful of a few strikes in Sion.

Four of the five meetings between Belgium and Italy have seen this selection land, too.

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