Italy striker Eder. (Photo : Getty Images)
Tournament-favorite Italy (2-0-0, 6 points) will look to sweep Group E competitions in the 2016 UEFA European Championship as they face winless squad Republic of Ireland (0-1-1, 1 point) in a third round match at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq on Wednesday, June 22.
Italy, considered as one of the teams to beat in the tournament after their strong showing in the first two rounds, is coming off a 1-0 decision over a Zlatan Ibrahimović-led Sweden eleven at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse last Friday, as per SkySports.
The game looked headed to a goalless draw until Inter Milan striker Eder provided the lone goal of the contest with two minutes left before full time as Ibrahimović and the Swedes gave head coach Antonio Conte's boys a tough fight from start to finish.
Lazio midfielder Marco Parolo had a chance to score a goal for the Italians at the 82nd, but his header hit the bar and bounced away.
The win, who had assured Gli Azzurri of a spot in the round-of-16 matches, was a fitting follow-up to their stunning 2-0 victory over world no. 2 Belgium during their tourney-opener as legendary goalkeeper and team captain Gianluigi Buffon is once again expected to lead his squad to a clean sheet against the Irish.
Meanwhile, Republic of Ireland had struggled in their first two matches of the group stage, ending up in a 1-1 draw with Sweden during their opener and then falling to Belgium, 0-3, in their second round match at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux last Saturday, The Guardian reported.
Head coach Martin O'Neill's side failed to stop Everton forward Romelu Lukaku from scoring a brace while Zenit midfielder Axel Witsel also netted one in between Lukaku's goals to hand the Green Army a lopsided loss.
O'Neill was all praises about their opponents after the match, though he admitted that they could have done better. They are again tagged as the underdogs against Italy and it seems like this squad is stronger than De Rode Duivels are so they could be in for another disappointment.
The predicted result is a 2-0 romp for Italy.
Italy starting lineup (3-5-2 formation): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Candreva, Parolo, De Rossi, Giaccherini, Florenzi; Pellè, Eder
Republic of Ireland starting lineup (4-4-1-1 formation): Randolph; Coleman, O'Shea, Clark, Ward; Hendrick, Whelan, McCarthy, Brady; Hoolahan; Long
