Greece v Italy Prediction: 8/13 Azzurri to avoid Heraklion loss

Greece played out a 2-2 draw with Sweden on Thursday and head into Sunday's clash in Heraklion as slight favourites to claim their first ever win over Italy.

However, this youthful Italy squad will be out to make a name for themselves in the hope of future international call-ups.

Greece v Italy Tips Summary

Best Bet - Italy or Draw - Double Chance @ 8/13
Alternative Bet - Under 2.5 goals @ 17/20
Bet Builder - Pio Esposito to score anytime & Over 6.5 corners @ 7/1

Greece v Italy Prediction

Best Bet: Italy or Draw - Double Chance @ 8/13

Italy may have only managed a 1-0 win over Luxembourg on Wednesday, but their performance deserved a greater margin of victory.

They had 15 shots on goal and generated 2.1 expected goals to their hosts’ 0.38 and, despite their failure to qualify for the World Cup, the Azzurri are a difficult side to beat.

Italy have lost only one of their last 10 games inside 90 minutes, winning eight of them, and should have enough about them to avoid defeat at the Pankritio Stadium.

Greece’s only win in their last eight outings came over Scotland in November, and they have drawn two and lost four of their six previous meetings with Italy.

Alternative Bet: Under 2.5 goals @ 17/20

Greece may have played their part in a four-goal thriller against Sweden, but they are not known for an abundance of goals and that could contribute to a low-scoring game against an equally goal-shy Italy side.

That draw in Solna ended a run of three games without a goal for Sunday’s hosts, with that trio of fixtures producing just a single goal in total.

Italy’s last three games have featured only five goals, with each of them going under 2.5 goals, and four of the six meetings between these sides have been low-scoring affairs.

Greece v Italy Bet Builder Tip

• Pio Esposito to score any time

• Over 6.5 corners

  Pays 7/1

Captain Gianluigi Donnarumma is the only member of the Italy squad to have more than 10 international caps to his name, making Inter Milan youngster Pio Esposito one of the more experienced members of this new-look side.

The 20-year-old has eight appearances for his country and his winning goal against Luxembourg took his international tally to four goals. 

Despite being limited largely to substitute appearances, he still managed to rack up 10 goals and five assists for his club this season and he looks the most likely candidate to find the net on Sunday.

The second part of this bet builder doesn't need too much research to show that there is a decent prospect of it landing.

Over 6.5 match corners seems like something of a given, given that the Azzurri have racked up 40 corners across their last five matches, including 13 against Moldova and 12 against Northern Ireland.

Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.

Key Match Stats

• Greece have never beaten Italy.

• Italy have only lost one of their last 10 games inside 90 minutes.

• Greece have only won one of their last eight games.

• Just five goals have been scored in Greece’s last four games.

• Under 2.5 goals has landed in Italy’s last three fixtures.

• Pio Esposito has four goals in eight appearances for Italy.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.