Italy vs Austria preview: Azzurri juggernaut set to bulldoze Austrians

Round of 16: Italy vs Austria, kick-off 8pm (UK time, BBC One)

Austria have the unenviable task of trying to be the first team at Euro 2020 to score against Italy when the teams collide at Wembley. 

Having already secured qualification with victories in their first two fixtures, the Italians rested eight of their regular starters against Wales yet still won 1-0 last Sunday.

Meanwhile, Austria eked out a 1-0 win over Ukraine to seize the runners-up spot in Group C.

The story so far

Roberto Mancini’s men qualified at a canter, winning three from three and scoring seven without reply.

Italy are currently on a 30-match unbeaten run and a win against Austria would break a record set in 1939.

Their performances have seen them go from dark horses to one of the tournament favourites.

Only Denmark (62) managed more shots in the group stage than Italy's 59 and England were the only other team to keep clean sheets in all three outings.

Austria, on the other hand, do not look anywhere near as assured.

The 3-1 win over North Macedonia flattered them and their performance in the 1-0 victory against Ukraine was tepid at best.

They were outclassed when losing to the Netherlands and Austria’s players are yet to show they truly understand the tactical approach manager Franco Foda is trying to implement.

The return of the metronome

Injury ruled Marco Verratti out of Italy’s first two matches.

In his place, Manuel Locatelli impressed alongside Nicolo Barella and Jorginho in Mancini’s midfield three.

But the Paris Saint-Germain maestro returned for the clash against Wales and put on quite a show.

The 28-year-old registered an assist with a sublime pass and created another two chances.

He was utterly dominant in the middle third, setting the tempo for those in blue and ensuring the opposition chased shadows.

The No6 completed 100 of the 106 passes he attempted in Rome. It was a statement performance.

The big decision now for Mancini will be who he pairs alongside Verratti and Jorginho in London.

Versatile Alaba

The captain and Austria’s most influential player, David Alaba has not been at his best at Euro 2020 — but he has still racked up two assists.

He has been deployed in the middle of a back three, with Foda tasking his skipper with covering for his centre-back partners when defending.

In possession, Alaba is stepping into the defensive midfield position and operating as something of a deep-lying playmaker.

If Austria are to get a foothold in the game against the Italians, the new Real Madrid signing will be pivotal both with and without the ball.

Shutting up shop

Italy have goal threats throughout their team, not least striker Ciro Immobile.

Only four players have taken more shots than the Lazio hitman (10) at Euro 2020 and he has only featured in two matches.

The former Borussia Dortmund forward is averaging 5.11 shots per 90 minutes and he is flanked by Lorenzo Insigne (4.17) and Domenico Berardi (4.06). It is a trigger-happy front three.

Mancini actually possesses six players within his squad who are averaging over 2.5 shots per 90.

Austria are going to have to find a way of nullifying the wide range of attacking talent across the Azzurri’s starting line-up.

The battle of styles

Italy rank fourth for passes attempted (1,697) and passes completed (1,489). They are also in the top six for pass accuracy (87.74%), passes into the final third (471) and one-touch passes attempted (372).

They like to keep possession and pin the opposition. They can mix it up, though, and regularly inject some speed into proceedings with their quick-fire passing.

But they are not averse to going a little more direct and rank fourth for long passes (129) across their three matches.

Austria are a lot more one-dimensional.

In total, 10% of their passes are classed as long and they rank second for this particular metric. They are also in the top five for crosses attempted (52), while they are 13th for one-touch passes attempted (293).

There will be two distinct styles on show at Wembley but it is hard to see past Italy’s dominant approach being enough to ensure progress.