Preview: Slovakia Under-21s vs. Italy Under-21s - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to avoid back-to-back defeats, Slovakia Under-21s face off against Italy Under-21s in the Under-21s European Championships on Saturday night.

The Falcons narrowly lost their maiden contest of the tournament earlier in the week, whilst Gli Azzurri picked up three points in Group A.

Match preview

Hosting this summer's competition, Slovakia commenced the tournament's proceedings with a tricky-looking contest versus Spain on Wednesday afternoon, when the home side were two goals behind during the opening 20 minutes due to Marc Pubill and Mateo Joseph strikes.

However, the Falcons were not willing to lay down and die in front of their passionate home support, with efforts from Samuel Kopasek and Tomas Suslov levelling the game in the second period before La Roja managed to win courtesy of Cesar Tarrega's last-minute header.

After failing in their opening contest of the tournament to Spain earlier in the week, host country Slovakia have lost each of their last four matches across all competitions, including friendly defeats to Portugal, Germany and France since November.

Sitting third in the Group A standings with nothing tangible to show after a single match, Slovakia need to avoid defeat on Saturday afternoon against Italy to have any realistic chance of making it through to the knockout stages later this month.

Runners-up in this competition during the 2013 edition in Israel, Group A favourites Italy are looking to go one better 12 years on and claim the continental crown, with Saturday night's visitors to Trnava making an excellent start to their campaign.

Gli Azzurri dominated the ball and created the majority of the clear-cut chances versus Romania last time out, with Roma youngster Tommaso Baldanzi finding the net in the first half, an effort which proved enough for maximum points on matchday one.

After easing past the attentions of the Romanians on Wednesday evening, Italy have now lost just one of their last 11 matches, with their most recent competitive defeat arriving to Ukraine in the Maurice Revello Tournament back in June 2024.

A star of the qualification campaign and Leeds United's promotion to the Premier League this season, Willy Gnonto is a standout name on the teamsheet of Gli Azzurri, with the 21-year-old scoring in each of his last three Championship appearances of 2024-25.

Slovakia Under-21s Euros form:

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Slovakia Under-21s form (all competitions):

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Italy Under-21 Euros form:

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Italy Under-21s form (all competitions):

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Team News

Slovakia are sweating over the fitness of Tomas Rigo, who was forced off during the final stages of the defeat to Spain on Wednesday.

The Falcons have a number of exciting attackers waiting in reserve for starting opportunities, such as 22-year-old Timotej Jambor.

After keeping an excellent clean sheet last time out and making three saves, Sebastiano Desplanches has done enough to retain his spot in goal for Italy.

A number of faces familiar to the English league system are battling for spots in Gli Azzurri's starting XI, including Michael Kayode of Brentford and former Chelsea man Cesare Casadei.

Slovakia Under-21s possible starting lineup:

Belko; Kopasek, Jakubo, Obert, Javorcek; Suslov, Nebyla, Svidersky; Marcelli, Sauer, Holly

Italy Under-21s possible starting lineup:

Desplanches; Zanotti, Ghilardi, Pirola, Ruggeri; Fabbian, Prati, Ndour; Baldanzi, Koleosho, Gnonto

We say: Slovakia Under-21s 1-2 Italy Under-21s

After pushing Spain all the way on Wednesday night, Slovakia should be confident of doing the same to Italy this weekend.

Gli Azzurri will have to weather the storm of the hosts on Saturday night but should have enough quality to make it back-to-back wins in Group A.

Written by
Carter White

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