Northern Ireland vs Italy Preview

Italy will look to book their place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup when they travel to Belfast this Monday to face Northern Ireland.

The hosts come into this tie on the back of a 1-0 win over Lithuania, their first win in four games. Their aim will now be to make it two wins in a row for the second time this year after recording back-to-back wins against Estonia and Lithuania in September.

Northern Ireland are unbeaten in three home World Cup Qualification (WCQ) games (W1, D2) and have also managed to achieve three clean sheets in those three fixtures.

Although Ian Barraclough’s side have missed out on a place in the World Cup, they are now playing for pride and will be looking to give their fans something to cheer about.

They will also look to frustrate Italy and ensure their visitors do not finish on top of the group.

Italy meanwhile are still waiting to seal their World Cup berth after a frustrating 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their last game.

Although they are still top of the group, they are only ahead of Switzerland by goal difference and will be desperate to get a win here and avoid having to play in the playoffs if they finish second.

The Azzurri head into this game with two wins from their last six games and they are yet to taste defeat in the qualifiers.

They will fancy their chances of beating Nothern Ireland who have not scored versus Italy in six meetings since 1961.