Struggling to find a victory, Belgium stage home to Italy in the fifth round of Nations League on Thursday, 14 November. Meanwhile, The Blues will be looking to stretch their undefeated run in the campaign as they aim to book a place in the next round. The Red Devils suffered a defeat to France previously while are backed by an incredible victory over Israel.
Belgium vs Italy: Match Preview
Similar to their Euro’s campaign earlier this year, Nations League has been a challenging campaign for Belgium so far. The season began positively for Belgium with a triumph over Israel, but they faltered with two losses to France and a draw against Italy. The single point against Italy came out with the advantage of the opponents’ red card, helping the Red Devils level the two-goal lead. With four points in four rounds, Belgium are currently third in the points table.
On the other hand, Italy is the only team to remain undefeated after four rounds, leading the table with ten points. On their journey to the summit of the table, Italy earned three points against France, defeated Israel twice, and shared a stalemate with Belgium. The Blues’ defense was breached in all four matches but an outstanding attack kept them strong, scoring 11 in total.
Belgium vs Italy: Head-to-Head Record
Since Euro 2016, Belgium and Italy have encountered four times and the Blues emerged victorious in three, ending one with an equal score. Italy have rattled the net twice in each four of them while leaking four goals in return, keeping one clean sheet as well. In their overall H2H record, Italy have claimed victories in six of 12 meetings, drawing three times with Belgium.
| Date | Match | Competition |
| 10/10/24 | Italy 2-2 Belgium | UEFA Nations League |
| 10/10/21 | Italy 2-1 Belgium | UEFA Nations League |
| 03/07/21 | Belgium 1-2 Italy | EURO |
| 14/06/16 | Belgium 0-2 Italy | EURO |
| 14/11/15 | Belgium 3-1 Italy | Friendly International |
Belgium vs Italy: Team News and Predicted Lineups
Belgium’s key player Kevin De Bruyne will still be out of the field due to fitness concerns. Romelu Lukaku is back with the team but his appearance in the starting lineup is not sure. Additionally, Youri Tielemans, Sebastiaan Bornauw, and Koni De Winter will miss out due to injuries. For Italy, Riccardo Calalfiori and Manuel Locatelli will be sidelined while Nicolo Barrela is expected to make a rapid return to the starting eleven.
Belgium Predicted Lineup
Casteels (GK) Debast, Faes, Theate, De Cuyper, Onana, Tielemans, Doku, De Ketelaere, Trossard, Openda.
Italy Predicted Lineup
Donnarumma(GK), Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Buongiorno, Cambiaso, Frattesi, Barella, Tonali, Dimarco, Raspadori, Retegui.
Belgium vs Italy: Match Prediction
Coming up with solid form, Italy will undoubtedly be our favorite to claim all three points in this game. Belgium’s backline has struggled, shipping two goals in each of their last three fixtures. On the other hand, The Blues’ offense will be high in confidence after scoring multiple goals in all of their four matchdays so far in Nations League.
Belgium vs Italy Predicted Result: 1-2 win for Italy
