Italy vs England Preview & Tips - England to stumble past Italy in Six Nations clash

Ben Darvill

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England beat Italy 27-24 the last time they travelled to face their opponents
Italy have won their last two home matches in all competitions
Preview, stats & head to head

Tommy Freeman of England (Getty Images)

Italy vs England Preview & Tips
Head To Head
Italy Form
England Form

Italy vs England Preview & Tips

Italy are eyeing a first-ever win over England, with their run of 32 consecutive defeats to their opponents as likely to end this weekend as it has even been.

England are in need of a big reaction this weekend after they were humiliated in a 42-21 loss to Ireland at Twickenham to see their hopes of winning the Six Nations brought to an end.

England have won all of their previous 32 meetings with Italy
England beat Italy by three points the last time they travelled to face their opponents

Head To Head

England have won all 10 of their recent meeting with Italy in a dominant run against their opponents.

Italy Form

Italy have been enduring a very up and down Six Nations to this point with a win in their opener followed by a pair of defeats to Ireland and France.

Their defeats to Ireland (20-13) and France (33-8) saw some old issues arise. Against the Irish, Italy had chances to beat their opponents, but they could not land that killer blow, with the Italians spurning opportunities to make Ireland pay.

Against France, Italy were still in the game at half-time as they trailed 19-8. However, they were unable to score in the second-half as they went down 14-0. While they had their moments, they were ultimately beaten by a far better side in game three.

Probably more telling for the Italians was their performance against Scotland in game one. While the weather had a huge impact on the match, Italy managed the occasion well as they scored 15 of their 18 points in the first-half before kicking Scotland into submission with the ball.

Italy's 32-game losing run against England is a major concern heading into this one. While Italy will feel they are right in this one, could the prospect of beating England for the first time ever see them freeze up?

Italy are $2.00 against England with a +7 point handicap, with the home side seriously in this contest. While I am backing against Italy beating England outright for the first time, I do predict that they will make this a close game.

England Form

England began the 2026 Six Nations hoping to secure the title, with the side targeting their clash with France on the final weekend as a potential Grand Slam decider.

While their 48-7 win over Wales in game one saw them start well, heavy defeats to Scotland (31-20) and Ireland (42-21) have seen their hopes of winning the Six Nations highlighted as fanciful. Both games saw England completely out-played, out-thought and out-done, with the Scottish and Irish running away from their error-strewn opponents.

Steve Borthwick has rung the changes heading into their penultimate match, with Finn Smith starting at 10 in the place of George Ford the big change. The travelling outfit will hope Smith's deployment at fly-half will see England play with more creativity, although a string of changes can often see a side stutter.

While I back England to get the win in their penultimate game I do not see it being comfortable. The English will know that they cannot afford to sink any lower than their woeful run of late has seen them slip, and I back them to get back to winning ways ahead of their clash with France.

Verdict

Italy v England U20

I am backing England to win by 1-12 points in a tight meeting between the two sides. I am also backing Italy with a +7 point handicap as they fall just short of beating the English for the first time.

Italy +7

Handicap Bet

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England 1-12

Winning Margin

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