Italy host Malta in Group H of the European Championship qualifications at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Firenze. The game kicks off at 20:45 CEST on Thursday, September 3, 2015.
Italy are currently in the second place in Group H behind leaders Croatia. They have twelve points from the six matches they have played. Malta on the other hand are at the bottom of the group with just one point from their six matches.
The Azzurri have been going along very gently in the qualifications and have not shown their real form as yet. As a matter of fact, they have been winless in their last four matches in all competitions including the international friendlies.
A 1-0 defeat to Portugal was their last international friendly while draws against Croatia, England and Bulgaria were the earlier results. The games against Croatia and Bulgaria were competitive Euro qualifiers.
Malta meanwhile have had a miserable Euro qualifiers as they’ve failed to register a single win in the six games. Defeats to Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Italy, Norway and a draw against Bulgaria away from home were their last five matches.
They have also not performed well at home, which has been a worry for the National team. They are winless in their last 10 matches, stretching back to a 1-0 win over Armenia in 2013.
Italy will look to the likes of Candreva, Pirlo, De Rossi, El Shaarawy and Pelle to put in a good performance and build up their rhythm for the games to follow. They will also want to net in some goals in this home fixture. Malta will hope for a low scoreline with some good performance from the likes of Failla, Effiong, Briffa and Muscat.
Italy are the favorites to win this game and Malta will have a hard time keeping the scoreline down let alone get a point from the game.