Italy v Slovakia

Italy have been extremely disappointing in the World Cup 2010 so far, there was no shame in drawing against Paraguay but the draw against New Zealand was an embarrassment and Italy have to improve massively if they are going to reach the next round.

Slovakia were also held by New Zealand and don't look a great side so that should give Italy some hope that they can still qualify from this group, but are they good enough to get three points?

Italy v Slovakia Match Odds

Match betting is a massively popular market and the first market most punters choose to look at as your decision in this market is likely to impact all other bets you place on the game.

BACK THE DRAW

First of all Slovakia are not as bad as many people will probably think they are which immediately makes the price on Slovakia winning the game a good value bet. Add to that the fact that Italy's aging team is not what it once was and they are probably going to be over estimated that means Italy price will more than likely offer poor value. With those things considered betting on Slovakia could be great value but we fancy the draw as a more likely result and that looks a very good price, you could even back both Slovakia and the draw and you would still get a nice return whether it is a draw or a Slovakia win.

Italy v Slovakia Asian Handicap Odds

The Asian Handicap is an interesting bet as it usually gives one team a lead that should be enough to cancel out any superiority the favourites for the game have.

BACK SLOVAKIA +1

Slovakia look a really good value bet in the asian handicap. If anything they could be even more likely winners of this match than Italy yet they have been given a head start in the asian handicap and they are a very good price with that head start. Certainly a good bet for this match.

Italy v Slovakia Goals Odds

Take a look at recent results for the two sides to help decide what the best bets are in the over/under betting and also the correct score market.

Italy Recent Competitive Results

Slovakia Recent Competitive Results

BACK 0-0 AND UNDER 2.5 GOALS

Italy have always been a team you can rely on for low scoring games, it is no surprise they had one of the tightest defences in qualifying with just seven goals conceded in ten games. As usual though, they were not a rampant attacking force, they scored just eighteen goals in qualifying in the ten games and that was amongst the lowest and the same as Switzerland, which shows what sort of level they are scoring goals at.

Slovakia also kept a relatively tight ship in their qualifying campaign, they conceded an average of a goal a game and scored a total of twenty two goals in their ten games, showing them to be a more prolific side than Italy.

This game looks a great value bet to be under 2.5 goals and Slovakia will know their best opportunity for three points will be to gain a 1-0 win. If you fancy Slovakia to win the matched that has to be the scoreline to back and if you fancy the favourites to win you should back Italy to win 1-0. We fancy this game to be a bit of a none event and 0-0 looks the best call alongside under 2.5 goals.

Italy v Slovakia Player Odds

Some of the most fun markets to bet on are the player markets, such as first goalscorer and anytime goalscorer. They are usually relatively big odds and can give plenty of reward if you pick correctly.

Italy v Slovakia Team News

Italy will be expecting to choose from many of their aging stars including Italy's most capped played Fabio Cannavaro, Gennaro Guttuso and Antonio Di Natale. Italy will need younger players such as Giorgio Chellini, Domenico Criscito and Riccardo Montolivo all to be fit to compliment those older players and give the team some legs. If Slovakia are to have a chance of getting three points in this game they will need stars such as Marek Hamsik and Martin Skrtel to be fully fit.

BACK NO GOALSCORER

With relatively few goals expected in this match, or even no goals, the first bet to consider is no goalscorer, even if the only goal(s) scored in the match is an own goal your bet will still be returned a winner. If you do fancy either team to score then only bother looking at the first goalscorer as the first goalscorer is likely to be the only goalscorer. For Italy it is Alberto Gilardino who makes most appeal, he is far from prolific but was Italy's top scorer in qualifying with four goals. If you think Slovakia will score first then Stanislav Sestak, who managed to rack up six goals in qualifying, would make most appeal as a first goalscorer.

Italy v Slovakia Half Time Odds

The latest tips that include the half time result in them, some of the most popular bets here are half time result and half time/full time.

BACK DRAW / DRAW IN THE HALF TIME / FULL TIME BETTING

Since we think this game will be 0-0 that would make it impossible for it not to be a draw at both half time and full time if that bet is to come in. By backing draw / draw you are also covering many other scoring outcomes so that should prove to be a good bet in this market.

Italy v Slovakia Best Bet

BACK SLOVAKIA +1 IN THE ASIAN HANDICAP

A low scoring match looks very likely here but at better odds than under 2.5 goals offers it should pay to back Slovakia +1 in the asian handicap. This covers both the draw and a Slovakia win and we think they could be the two most likely outcomes in the match making this a very good bet at the generous odds that are available.