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The qualifiers for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship continue this week and will see Sweden U21 host Italy U21 at the Olympia on Thursday.
After a solid start to their European Championship qualifiers, Sweden U21 suffered back-to-back defeats in the previous two international breaks, thereby surrendering the top spot in the group. However, they returned to winning ways last time out, beating bottom-placed Luxembourg 3-0.
The hosts sit third in the group with 17 points from nine games, and need to win on Thursday to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Italy U21 have performed superbly in their qualifiers so far. They cruised to a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg U21 in their last game and could have won by a wider margin with their dominant performance on the day.
The Italians are five-time winners of the continental showpiece and have been everpresent in the tournament since 2000, a run they will be looking to extend next year.
Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Head-to-Head
Thursday's game will mark the 10th meeting between Sweden U21 and Italy U21. The hosts have won two of their previous matchups while the visitors have won five times.
There have been two draws between the two sides, including their most recent clash which ended 1-1.
Sweden U21 Form Guide: W-L-L-W-D
Italy U21 Form Guide: W-W-D-W-D
Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Team News
Sweden U21
Head coach Andreas Pettersson has no injury or suspension concerns ahead of their midweek clash and should retain the XI that beat Luxembourg last week. AIK's Josafat Mendes has been called up to the Sweden U21 camp for the first time and will hope to make his debut this week.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Italy U21
Destiny Udogie, Nicolò Fagioli, Roma loanee Riccardo Calafiori and Cagliari's Raoul Bellanova are all injured and will not play here.
Injured: Raoul Bellanova, Destiny Udogie, Riccardo Calafiori, Nicolò Fagioli
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Predicted XI
Sweden U21 Predicted XI (4-4-2): Samuel Brolin; Daniel Svensson, Aiham Ousou, Pavle Vagic, Eric Kahl; Patrick Walemark, Carl Gustafsson, Bilal Hussein, Isak Jansson; Rami Al Hajj, Amin Sarr
Italy U21 Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Marco Carnesecchi; Andrea Cambiaso, Matteo Lovato, Lorenzo Pirola, Giacomo Quagliata; Nicolo Rovella, Fabio Miretti; Emanuel Vignato, Gianluca Gaetano, Nicolo Cambiaghi; Pietro Pellegri
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Sweden U21 vs Italy U21 Prediction
Sweden U21's latest result ended a run of back-to-back defeats. They have lost just one game on home soil since 2019 and will fancy their chances ahead of this one.
Italy U21 are on a run of back-to-back wins. They are undefeated in their last nine outings across all competitions and have lost just one of their last 17. The visitors are in much better form ahead of the midweek clash and should therefore come out on top.
Prediction: Sweden U21 1-2 Italy U21
