Italy take on Spain at Wembley Stadium this evening in the first of Euro 2020’s semi-final fixtures.
Italy have quite possibly been the most impressive side in the competition up to this point, finishing atop their group with 3-0 victories over Turkey and Switzerland and a 1-0 win against Wales.
Roberto Mancini’s team then saw off Austria 2-1 in extra time in the last 16, before defeating Belgium 1-0 in a massive quarter-final tie.
Italy vs Spain: Follow all the latest updates
Spain, meanwhile, have at times underwhelmed en route to the final four. Luis Enrique’s team opened their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Sweden, before a 1-1 stalemate with Poland. They then found goalscoring form with a 5-0 thrashing of Slovakia, however, before putting five past Croatia in an extra-time last-16 victory – having blown a 3-1 lead in normal time.
Luis Enrique’s players then required penalties to squeeze past Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s semi-final, with England or Denmark awaiting the winners in Sunday’s final.
When is it?
The game will kick off at 8pm BST tonight at Wembley.
How can I watch it?
BBC One will show the match live on free-to-air TV, with the fixture available to stream live on BBC iPlayer.
What is the team news?
In a huge blow for Italy, left-back Leonardo Spinazzola – arguably their best player at Euro 2020 so far – ruptured his Achilles late on against Belgium. As such, the defender will miss the rest of the tournament and spend a few months on the sidelines.
Elsewhere in the Italy squad, a number of players have recovered from niggling injuries, so any selection headaches for Mancini will result from the impressive form of many of his charges, rather than physical issues.
Spain, meanwhile, look likely to be without Pablo Sarabia in their frontline, while Aymeric Laporte trained separately from the rest of the group this week but is expected to be okay to play this evening.
Predicted line-ups
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne
Spain: Simon; Azpilicueta, Laporte, Torres, Alba; Koke, Busquets, Pedri; Torres, Morata, Olmo
Odds
Italy: 6/4
Draw: 21/10
Spain: 2/1
Prediction
If this match follows form, Italy should arguably beat Spain comfortably. Semi-final fixtures tend to be quite cagey, however, and so a narrow win – either way – seems more likely. Italy 2-1 Spain.
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