Italy vs. Netherlands – Nations League, October 14, 2020

This fixture is always eagerly anticipated – whatever competition or tournament it is in – and both Italy and the Netherlands will be looking to bounce back after goalless draws at the weekend.

Italy tops the group but, with the Netherlands and Poland just a point behind after three games, a home win for the Azzurri is crucial.

BetOnline has obviously considered Italy’s fine form over the last year or so and made it the favorite to win this vital Nations League fixture on Wednesday. But the Netherlands was probably unlucky to come away from Bosnia with just a point and should be able to match the Azzurri all the way in Bergamo. The draw bet odds stand out here at first glance.

A draw away in Poland on Sunday should probably be considered a good result for Robert Mancini and his Italian team. But there will be a feeling that the visitors should have come away with more after looking the better of the two sides throughout. New Juventus winger Federico Chiesa missed a couple of good chances and those will have to be taken against the Netherlands.

Mancini did have to deal with a number of injuries for the game in Poland, but that is to be expected with so many games coming in such a short amount of time. The good news for Italy is that it is still top of the group with half the fixtures completed – and it now gets to play its most important game at home.

The Netherlands will not be afraid of travelling to Italy in search of points but there will be some disappointment in the squad that it is not making the trip on the back of a win in Bosnia. Although the home side played well in Zenica, it was Frank De Boer’s men who should have come away with all three points.

The new manager now needs to raise a weary team for probably the biggest game in the group. Italy has been making up for lost time after missing out on World Cup 2018 and the win in Amsterdam at the beginning of September has heaped all the pressure on the Netherlands to pick up at least a point on Wednesday.

It is something of a dated cliché to extoll the virtues of Italian defending but there is still some truth in the idea of the Azzurri being able to frustrate opponents. It is unclear whether Giorgio Chiellini will return for this one but there will still be a formidable barrier between the Netherlands and the Italian goal. This could be a tight game at the end of a very busy international break – and the draw bet looks to be the best value here.