The Euro 2020 round of 16 keeps moving on Saturday night, with one of the tournament favourites taking on a potential dark horse.
☝️ What one thing should I keep an eye on
Marco Verratti was superb as he made his tournament debut against Wales, while Matteo Pessina scored the winning goal in that game.
But Mancini will surely want to get Manuel Locatelli and Nicolò Barella into his team too. An embarrassment of riches.
🔑 Can you give me a key player from each team?
Domenico Berardi
Locatelli grabbed all the headlines for his brilliant performance in the win over Switzerland, but his Sassuolo team-mate Berardi was arguably the one who made it all happen.
Berardi will surely come back in after he was rested against Wales, and he could cause all manner of problems for Austria in that wide-right position.
After serving a short suspension, Arnautović was on his best behaviour during the victory over Ukraine, and Austria were so much better for it.
He is a top quality player capable of moments of magic when he’s on it, and Austria will need him to be on it here.
📊 Fun facts
- Italy are unbeaten in their last 13 meetings with Austria, going back to 1960
- The Azzurri are currently unbeaten in 30 games, the joint-longest run in their history
- This is Austria’s first ever appearance in the knockout stages of the Euros, and their first in the knockout stage of any major tournament since they reached the semi-final of the 1954 World Cup
🔮 Predicted line-ups
Austria (4-2-3-1): Bachmann; Lainer, Dragović, Hinteregger, Alaba; Schlager, Grillitsch; Laimer, Sabitzer, Baumgartner; Arnautović
