Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come - UEFA Euro 2024 is upon us. The very best nations from across the continent of Europe will compete with one another for the right to be called champions. There are some great teams who are ready to lay it all on the line in the name of greatness, and we can’t wait to see it. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the upcoming clash between Italy and Albania.

They may be the reigning European champions, but the Italian national team have to focus on working hard to repair their image. They failed to qualify for the World Cup and as such, they need to remind fans that they are still an elite team within the continent. It’s not going to happen overnight, but they are the defending champs, which is always a big boost heading into this period.

Italy actually came really, really close to slipping into the play-offs, finishing in 2nd place in their qualifying group behind England. They were only able to get through on goal difference, just about edging past Ukraine to ensure they could defend their title this summer.

Albania haven’t always been looked upon as a team that’s a constant threat in qualification, and rightly so, given that their only major accomplishment came in 2016 when they made it to the Euros for the first time. However, they’re a fun team to watch, and things finally appear to be clicking into place across the pitch - and that has to be cause for excitement.

Albania served as one of the surprise packages of the qualifiers as they were able to finish top of Group E, ahead of both Czech Republic and Poland. They won the group on goal difference and throughout the course of their campaign, they only actually lost one game.

We have a feeling that these two sides are going to be pretty trepidatious to kickstart the campaign. They both have the ability to cause problems for the other, but it’s all about easing into the tournament at this point. So, for that reason, we’re going to shoot for under 2.5 goals scored.