Rome: Italy will look to seal their place in the round of 16 as they take on Switzerland in Group A encounter at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Wednesday. Later on the day, Wales aim to get the first win of the tournament against Turkey in the same group at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
Italy are coming off a 3-0 against Turkey at home in their first match. They had a hard time breaking down the stubborn visitors’ defence. Lorenzo Insigne and Ciro Immobile sealed the deal with a strike each with another coming from an own form Turkey’s Merih Demiral.
Touted as one of the favourites the Azzuri are also on a nine-match winning streak without conceding a single goal. Roberto Mancini has made his men believe in their abilities and which was evident on the pitch having 24 shots on goal in the first game. However, seeing their results in recent times, it would not be surprising if they score a few early goals in the game.
Switzerland though will come into this game having drawn 1-1 against Wales in their first match. A goal from attacker Breel Embolo for Swiss was cancelled out by Welsh forward Kieffer Moore. However, they will have the face the ever-dependable defensive Italian wall.
For Switzerland, custodian Yann Sommer will be a player to watch out for while Ricardo Rodriguez and Xherdan Shaqiri hold the key in creating chances.
Elsewhere in Baku, Wales and Turkey will battle it out for their first win of the tournament. Wales after their spirited game against the Switzerland which ended 1-1 will be positive about their approach.
For Wales, manager Ryan Giggs will look to utilise more the duo of Joe Allen and Joe Morrell in midfield who will form a double pivot in this fixture while he hopes that Bale finds his feat to inspire the side again.
As for Turkey, Hakan Calhanoglu will hold the key in the attacking midfield region with Cengiz Under and Burak Yilmaz to finish off chances to give them the edge. Merih Demiral will also be an astounding presence holding off the opposing forwards.
In another game of the evening, Russia will take on Finland in Group B at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg. Finland will come into the game having beaten Denmark 1-0 in drastic circumstances in their first match of the tournament.
Markku Kanerva’s men can book their place in the next round if they can overhaul the challenge of the Russian side at their home. Striker Teemu Pukki will probably retain his place in the starting XI despite not being fully fit in the previous match. However, it’s their defence that received the accolades and will be put to test again.
Russia on the other hand, took some beating by the World No.1 Belgium in a 0-3 defeat in their opener. Yuri Zhirkov suffered a knee injury during the last game and will unlikely to feature in the line-up while Denis Cheryshev will hope to inspire as he did in the last World Cup. Coach Stanislav Cherchesov will hope his side improve their performance if they are to make it past the group stage.
