ITALY PLAY OFF FOR THIRD

Italy and Uruguay will certainly be disappointed about not making it to the final of the Confederations cup, but they have a chance to redeem themselves by managing to finish third in the competition when they meet each other ahead of the final.

The third place play-off match between the two teams is expected to be a very evenly contested match. Even though Uruguay were in a poor run of form coming into the tournament, they have gradually managed to establish themselves as one of the top teams. They have beaten by Brazil only by a late header, as they missed out on a place in the final.

Even though the players will have given a lot in the semifinals, it is thought that fatigue will not be a problem on Saturday. Uruguay are the favourites to win the match, but not by a huge margin because they are 13/8 to win the match while Italy are 6/4 to win the match according to several bookmakers. There is also the possibility of a draw and it is rated at 12/5 by major bookmakers. Italy pushed Spain extremely hard in the semi-final, and they were unlucky to come away with a defeat. Hence, Uruguay certainly cannot be thought of as the favourites to win just because of the home advantage.

Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan appear to be coming into form at just the right stage in the tournament. Unsurprisingly, they are the favourites to open the scoring for Uruguay. AC Milan youngster Stephan El Shaarawy could start the match since main striker Mario Balotelli will be absent from the encounter. Alberto Gilardino also provides a worthy replacement for the former City striker. Tiredness has been an issue for the Italians in this competition, and Uruguay will be looking to take advantage of it.