Game Preview and Odds for Japan vs. Italy in the FIFA Confederations Cup - 19.06.2013

Japan face Italy in the second round of games in Group A at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, on June 19th, 2013.

Japan lost their opening match to the tournament hosts with the score of 3-0 and are looking to bounce back. Italy beat Mexico 2-1 in their opening game and a win vs. Japan would secure them a place in the tournament semi-finals.

Italy are undefeated in all previous meetings against Japan so far and are the favourites to win again on Wednesday.

The odds for the upcoming match are as follows:

Japan: 4/1
Draw: 13/5
Italy: 7/10

A $100 bet on Japan could return $400 in profit if successful, while the same bet on Italy could return $70.

The most likely scores according to the odds are a 1-0 victory for Italy valued at 9/2, followed by a 2-0 victory for Italy and a 1-1 draw both offered at 6/1.

Japan have had an extra day of rest between games and this could be an advantage for the Asia Cup winners.

Added pressure for Italy could be the fact that they face Brazil in their third group match and the game against Japan is a must win to secure playoffs.

Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni is an Italian and a former coach of of AC Milan, Lazio and Inter Milan. He knows the Italian players and their game very well and it will be interesting to see how he decides to play against his home country.

This should be an exciting game!

The kick-off is at 19:00 local time.