A big battle is in the offing as Italy prepares to host Germany in League A, Group 3 of the UEFA Nations League. Any point in this group will be worth the fight, with England and Hungary also pooled here. Italy have a lot to prove here; they are playing this game on the back of a second straight failure to qualify for the World Cup, but at the same time, they are the European champions. They advanced to the finals in the last Nations League competition but could only finish third despite playing at home. They go into this game having beaten Turkey 3-2 in a friendly match in their last outing. That was Italy’s third win in 10 matches; they don’t take to this clash a very strong run, having managed one win in the last four games. In their last six matches, they have one clean sheet only and the same is the case in their last six home matches. Italy have two wins in six home games, the most comfortable being the 5-0 win over Lithuania.

Germany on the other hand, have been a different side since their 2-0 defeat to England which also saw them eliminated from the 2020 European Championships. They haven’t lost since, going unbeaten in nine matches and they are among teams that booked their 2022 World Cup very early. In six of their last nine matches, they have kept clean sheets and in eight of those nine matches, they have scored two or more goals. In their last five away matches, Germany have only drawn with the Netherlands; they won each of the earlier four, and scored two or more goals in the four games. Their form in the Nations League has however been patchy; the last time they played in this competition they were smacked 6-0 by Spain. Times have changed definitely and we don’t foresee them suffering such a heavy loss in the near future, but they need to improve on their away run in this competition. In the last five away matches in the Nations League, they have one win.