Italy vs Israel Prediction: Another box office encounter?

Italy host Israel at Bluenergy Stadium on Tuesday (19:45 BST) for their Uefa World Cup qualifier. The Azzurri have won their previous four matches in Group I, including a 5-4 thriller against their opponents last month.

Read on for my Italy vs Israel predictions, supported by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Italy are having to cope without forward Moise Kean in Udine because of an ankle injury. The Fiorentina front man opened the scoring in his side's 3-1 win against Estonia on Saturday.

Boss Gennaro Gattuso will be forced into another change following Alessandro Bastoni's suspension triggered by the yellow card he picked up last time out. It would seem Gianluca Mancini is the most likely candidate to step into the three-man defence in his absence.

Gianluca Scamacca, plus wingers Matteo Politano and Mattia Zaccagni are all out injured for the hosts. Leonardo Spinazzola and Andrea Cambiaso may be under consideration for starts on Tuesday.

Football Odds

Dor Peretz is Israel's most notable absentee heading into this match, having bagged a brace against the hosts when they met last month. Dan Biton didn't have an impact up front for the visitors against Norway last time out, so Tai Baribi may be tasked with leading the line here.

Oscar Gloukh and Manor Solomon should maintain their places in the final third.

Today's Football Fixtures

Italy vs Israel Odds

Italy are the 2/11 favourites to win this clash. They've won four qualifiers in a row, including one against Israel last month. Both teams were on the scoresheet in that encounter - so you will find better value in Italy and BTTS at 6/4, which has an implied probability of 40%.

The draw is marketed at 6/1, while the visitors are 14/1 to collect the three points.

BTTS on its own is valued at 10/11, while Mateo Retegui heads the anytime goalscorer market at 4/5.

Italy and over 3.5 goals @ 5/4

These two teams put on a show when they last met and I think we could be in for a treat once again. Israel have lost their last two qualifiers and it seems like they need a result here as defeat would see them fall six points behind their hosts having played one more game

Momentum is certainly with Italy, who after sacking Luciano Spalletti following their opening qualifier defeat to Norway, have not looked back since. Gattuso has led them to four consecutive victories in Group I and it is going to be difficult for Israel to stop them in their tracks.

A couple of injury concerns is a worry but the home side still have a lot of talented players at their disposal and I believe they will again have too much for Israel to handle. Gattuso will be hoping that his side can be more organised at the back this time around, after shipping four goals against the visitors in September.

I do think that there will be goals on offer again, though, as this selection has been boosted by the inclusion of over 3.5 goals. This has been a winning selection in each of Italy's previous three qualifiers and it has also been a successful bet in Israel's last four qualifiers.

World Cup Odds

Both teams to score @ 10/11

Considering how the last meeting played out, you will probably share my sentiments as to why this seems like a sensible selection. Both teams had no issues finding the net in that nine-goal thriller and although Israel blanked against Norway at the weekend, I think there are still some question marks over Italy's defence and there are some weaknesses that the visitors can exploit.

Bastoni's absence in defence could potentially lead to some issues. They did concede against Estonia last time out so that makes two matches on the spin in which BTTS has been a winning selection. There have also been goals at both ends in four of Israel's six fixtures in this qualifying campaign.

Offers

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