Italy face Republic of Ireland tonight in a match that they must win to have any chance of making it to the knockout stages of Euro 2012, whereas Ireland only have pride to play for, as Paddy Power tell us they will refund bets if there are four or more goals scored in the game.
Italy will have been disappointed with the result in their last match against Croatia, it was a game that they had the better of the chances but eventually could only manage a draw after taking the lead.
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With both Croatia and Spain now two points ahead of them, Claudio Prandelli’s side have to take all three points this time out and hope the other match has a winner.
Andrea Pirlo scored a fantastic free-kick against the Croats and he looks to hold the key to the Italians success as most of their attacking play comes through him.
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Prandelli’s men still have it all too play for though and they have to go into this game with a positive, attacking mindset and take their chances.
Mario Balotelli will also need to improve his form in front of goal and announce himself in the tournament.
As for Ireland, it has been a poor couple of games for them as they have been convincingly beaten in both encounters.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s men were thrashed 4-0 last time out against Spain, a result which saw their hopes of making the quarter-finals destroyed.
Trapattoni will be disappointed that his side have made sloppy mistakes in the competition and only have themselves to blame for gifting goals to top quality opposition.
The Irish had high hopes of a decent run in Euro 2012, especially after a run of eleven clean sheets in 14 games unbeaten.
This is a match where Ireland are playing for the pride of their nation and the travelling supporters will want have something to cheer about.
Kick –off for this exciting tie is at 7.45pm on Monday.