Football Accumulator Tips: Italy U21s to start strong in Slovakia on Wednesday

Wednesday marks the start of the 2025 Uefa European U-21 Championship, hosted by Slovakia. England are the defending champions, but the Young Lions aren't in action until the tournament's second day.

A few of the competition's heavyweights, Spain, Italy and France, are, though, and all three feature in my Football Accumulator Tips for Wednesday, June 11, which you can check out below...

Italy U21 (N) to beat Romania U21 (20:00, Channel 4 Sport YouTube) @ 4/7

Italy (15/2) arrive to this U21 tournament as sixth-favourites to win the whole thing, but Gli Azzurrini are winless in their last five games (D4, L1), last tasting victory in a 3-0 win over Norway on September 10. Their last four matches have been friendlies, however, and they will be expected to raise their level in a competitive contest.

Notable names in Carmine Nunziata's squad include Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds United), Tommaso Baldanzi (AS Roma), Luca Koleosho (Burnley), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna) and Michael Kayode (Brentford). The competition also offers Brighton & Hove Albion supporters the chance to watch supposedly Seagulls-bound defender Diego Coppola (Hellas Verona) in action.

Italy's opening game is against Romania at the City Arena Trnava, and it's one they should be confident of winning, despite the Tricolorii Mici winning their qualifying group by two points. Crucially, though, Finland were their closest opposition, indicating they weren't drawn in the toughest group.

The likes of Gnonto and Baldanzi should prove too much in attack for the Romanians, who will find it tough to breach their opponents' back line, too.

Football Odds

France U21 Win (N) & Both Teams to Score in Portugal U21 vs France U21 (20:00, 4seven) @ 3/1

At the same time, France take on Portugal in a real heavyweight clash at Stadion an Sihoti in Trencin. Les Bleuets (9/2) are joint-third in the outright market, while Portugal (10/1) are down in seventh, but there are some terrific rising talents on both sides.

France boast Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel (both Tottenham Hotspur), Thierno Barry (Villarreal) and Castello Lukeba (RB Leipzig), among others, in their squad, although the recent promotion of new Manchester City signing, Rayan Cherki, to the senior side has weakened their options in attack.

Portugal, meanwhile, can call upon Rodrigo Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Mateus Fernandes (Southampton) and Geovany Quenda (Sporting CP), but their top scorer in qualifying, Fabio Silva (Wolverhampton Wanderers), suffered an injury in mid-April on loan at Las Palmas and has been ruled out of the tournament.

Still, I think Esperancas can at least lay a glove on the French defence, and force Gerald Baticle's side to score two or three, which I think they are more than capable of doing with the likes of Tel and Barry up top, so I'm backing both teams to score but Les Bleuets to emerge with the three points.

Real Oviedo or Draw in Real Oviedo vs Almeria (20:00, Premier Sports 1) @ 4/9

Over in Spain, there's a big contest taking place between Real Oviedo and Almeria at the Estadio Nuevo Carlos Tartiere.

Oviedo finished third in La Liga 2, just two points behind second-place Elche, who clinched the second automatic promotion spot and forced Los Azules to take part in the play-offs in a bid to join them in the first tier.

Almeria, meanwhile, ended the regular campaign in sixth, setting up a two-legged tie with Oviedo in the semi-finals, the first of which they lost 2-1 at home last Saturday. As a result, they must win the return meeting in Oviedo to stand any chance of making the final.

The likely absence of Luis Suarez, who struck 27 goals in La Liga 2 this term - seven more than his nearest rival - doesn't help their cause. The 27-year-old was called up by Colombia for their 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Argentina this month, and after playing the first 45 minutes of their goalless draw with La Bicolor, he remained rooted to the bench for their 1-1 stalemate with the reigning World Cup champions in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Suarez could have hopped on the first plane, or jet, back to Spain, but even if that were the case, he'd hardly be in ideal condition to participate in a must-win game for Almeria.

A draw would send Oviedo through to the final, and with Suarez probably still sidelined, I think the hosts have enough to hang on at the Estadio Nuevo Carlos Tartiere.

Football Accumulator Coupons

Both Teams to Score in Atlanta United 2 vs Huntsville (22:00) @ 4/9

We end the night in America, specifically at the Fifth Third Stadium in Kennesaw, where Atlanta United 2 take on Huntsville in the MLS Next Pro.

Atlanta United 2, the reserve team of MLS club Atlanta United, have lost back-to-back matches in the competition, suffering a 1-0 defeat at New York Red Bulls 2 before going down 3-2 at home to New York City II last time out.

Their opponents on Wednesday, Huntsville, also lost their last game 3-2 at home, to Orlando City B.

The Boys in Blue are five points ahead of their hosts in the table, but I'm not backing either side for a victory here. Instead, I'm selecting both teams to score, which has landed in all six previous head-to-heads, including the reverse fixture at the Joe W. Davis Stadium last month, when United triumphed on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

BTTS - Yes has been a winner in 67% (eight) of Atlanta's 12 league games this season, including three of their last five, and 64% (seven) of Huntsville's 11 (four of their last five), so I'm confident in backing both teams to find the net on Wednesday.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read all our latest Football Accumulator Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.