Incredibly, Italy will probably go through to the last sixteen with three draws, although they will be desperate to win this match and have an outside chance of avoiding Holland in the last sixteen. The Azzurri have been disappointing in both of their other Group F matches, especially in defence where they have been slack with set pieces.

While it’s tempting to argue that the Italians are always slow starters in major tournaments, the pre-World Cup results weren’t particularly good and it appears that there’s too much reliance on the midfield pairing of Daniele De Rossi and Riccardo Montolivo to make things happen.

Slovakia also have a chance of going through to the last sixteen and they were just as impressive as their opponents when it came to qualifying for the World Cup. Sadly, Vladimir Weiss’ team created little of note against the Paraguayans and we can’t be too confident of their chances as tournament rookies. A slender win for Marcello Lippi’s team looks to be on the cards.

PREDICTION: ITALY TO WIN 1-0 (5.5 with LADBROKES) OR 2-0 (6.0 with BET365)