Italy have now made themselves firm favourites for this group after a 2-0 win over fellow heavyweights Belgium. I tipped Sweden to do well at this tournament but that prediction very much depended on them securing three points against the Republic of Ireland – something the Swedes failed to do.
Antonio Conte’s side know that a win against Blagult would take them through to the next round no matter their result in their final match against Ireland. With this in mind they are the strong favourites and the bookies odds of 21/20 mean there is no value in backing the Italians.
Sweden’s talismanic striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, seemed to be out of the match for most of their 1-1 draw against Ireland but managed to produce some magic to assist the Swedes equalisier. This time of course he is up against tougher opposition in the Italian backline but I would still back him to make an impact, even if Sweden fail to come out on top in this fixture.
Zlatan to score anytime is 11/5.
Read Thomas’s EURO 2016 preview on Sweden here.