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MATCH THREAD: Rnd of 16 - Spain vs Italy - KO 17:00 (BBC)

Who will win?

  • Spain

    Votes: 1 9.1%
  • Italy

    Votes: 10 90.9%

  • Total voters
    11
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Italy could name 10 of the 11 starters who began the win against Belgium in their opening game.

Antonio Candreva is out with a thigh problem and his place at right wing-back is expected to go to Roma's Alessandro Florenzi.

Spain have named the same starting line-up in all three games so far.

Centre-back Sergio Ramos is the only Spaniard to have been booked and another caution would rule him out of a potential quarter-final

Monday's meeting of Mediterranean superpowers brings together familiar foes - it will be the sixth time Italy have met Spain at the finals of the European Championship, making it the most played fixture in the tournament. That history is primarily recent - this will be their fourth Euros encounter since 2008.

Prior to that point, the Spanish regarded the Azzurri as their bogey side - opposition not technically superior but feared because of their perceived mastery of football's dark arts; streetwise, defensive, occasionally cynical and invariably successful.

But now the boot is on the other foot. Spain's shoot-out win against the Italians at Euro 2008 - the first time they had beaten them at a major tournament - proved a definite turning point.

Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini recognises the shift in momentum - and concedes it is now Spain who are Italy's "bogey team".

"The beginning of their golden period coincided with their win over us in 2008," Chiellini said.

"It was only in Kiev [the 4-0 defeat in the Euro 2012 final] that we weren't able to give them a game, we hadn't been able to recover from our game against Germany.

"In all the others we saw more balanced games decided by incidents. That's how the game will be on Monday… details can make all the difference."
 




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