Group A comes to a climax at Euro 2020, as Italy set out to make it three wins from three on Sunday night.
The Azzurri host Wales at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with the Red Dragons also having one foot in the knockouts thanks to a fine win over Turkey on Wednesday.
It was a result that left the Turks pointless in Baku, with their only remaining hope to land a punch on Switzerland when they meet at the same time in the capital of Azerbaijan.
Group A: Italy vs Wales
Two wins, six goals scored, none conceded – life has been serene for Italy so far at Euro 2020 as they prepare to take on tricky Wales on Sunday in Rome.
It’s a third successive fixture on home turf at the Stadio Olimpico for Roberto Mancini and his side, who dispensed with Turkey 3-0 on the opening night.
They did the same to sorry Switzerland on Wednesday thanks to a rare double from Manuel Locatelli and a late third from Ciro Immobile.
The Azzurri became the first side to qualify for the last 16, making for a daunting task for their visitors.
Still, the Welsh have fine recent pedigree at the European Championship after going all the way to the semi-finals in France five years ago.
Propelled by Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale, they produced a gutsy performance to hold Turkey at bay in Baku last Wednesday.
Juventus midfielder Ramsey opened the scoring and, having been clinging on for so long, Bale atoned for his penalty miss to tee up unlikely Connor Roberts to seal a 2-0 victory in the 95th minute.
It leaves Rob Page’s side on four points and as full of confidence as they could be stepping into the coliseum.
Veteran captain Giorgio Chiellini ordered his own first half substitution against the Swiss, with replacement Francesco Acerbi expected to continue in his place here.
Alessandro Florenzi will likely be kept on ice a little longer, too, while Marco Verratti is on the brink of his return to the Italian midfield for the first time in the competition.
A hard grafting performance will have left some tired Welsh legs in Azerbaijan, but they may still go with an unchanged side again in Rome.
That would mean Manchester United flyer Daniel James joining Bale and Ramsey in supporting unlikely hero Kieffer Moore in attack.
Probable Italy Starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Giovani Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Francesco Acerbi, Leonardo Spinazzola, Manuel Locatelli, Jorginho, Nicolo Barella, Domenico Berardi, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne.
Probable Wales Starting XI: Danny Ward, Connor Roberts, Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies, Joe Allen, Joe Morrell, Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Daniel James, Kieffer Moore.
Group A: Switzerland vs Turkey
Switzerland are back in Baku for their final Group A fixture at Euro 2020, where wounded Turkey lie in wait on Sunday.
The tag of tournament dark horses has been stripped from the Turks, who subsided to a 3-0 loss on the opening night in Italy, before a 2-0 defeat to Wales all but knocked them out at the earliest possible opportunity.
Being roared on by a de facto home crowd in Azerbaijan failed to inspire them on Wednesday.
Aaron Ramsey’s opener left them chasing shadows for the rest of the match before conceding a second in injury time.
The Swiss at least have a point from their first assignment in the Azerbaijani capital against the Welsh.
It leaves them in with a shout of qualification for the last 16, likely with a third-placed finish, if they can seal a first win of the tournament.
And that’s despite suffering the same, three-goal mauling in Rome as their opponents.
Mario Gavranovic could replace Haris Seferovic from the off for the Swiss, not that either has been particularly impressive so far.
It would also be an excellent time for the likes of Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri to start firing before it’s too late.
Coach Senol Gunes is in an unenviable position with his options, having to choose whether to stick or twist with his team selection in one last push to snatch an unlikely place in the next phase.
Probable Switzerland Starting XI: Yann Sommer, Nico Elvedi, Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, Kevin Mbabu, Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Ricardo Rodriguez, Xherdan Shaqiri, Breel Embolo, Mario Gavranovic.
Probable Turkey Starting XI: Ugurcan Cakir, Mert Muldur, Merih Demiral, Caglar Soyuncu, Umut Meras, Cengiz Under, Kaan Ayhan, Okay Yokuslu, Irfan Can Kahveci, Hakan Calhanoglu, Burak Yilmaz.
Euro 2020 predictions for 20 June
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
