Who will win the battle of the Super Marios?

In addition to usual suspects Gomez and Balotelli, a clutch of midfield maestros are on Edoardo Dalmonte's radar as he looks at potential Germany v Italy goalscorers.

Following their dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over England, Cesare Prandelli’s Italy have the dubious honour of taking on Germany in the semi-finals of Euro 2012 on Thursday.

As the typical elephant in the room, conversation regarding the Mannschaft seems to have gone from fear and awe to pure denial.

So far, Joachim Loew’s levies have blown all their opposition out of the water and are many punters’ favourites to win their fourth Henri Delaunay trophy.

One reason is their front-line’s excellent physical condition and technique, the latter being a factor which was sorely missing from England’s attack on Sunday.

World Cup Qualifiers - European Zone - Group C

Germany win	£23.60	(9/50)
Draw	£130.00	(11/2)
Austria win	£200.00	(9/1)

Thomas Muller possesses both the skill and pace needed to beat an Azzurri rearguard still allergic to the occasional injection of speed.

Italy looked vulnerable dealing with crosses in the early stages of their clash with the Three Lions and Gomez’s aerial presence and finishing ability could well come to the fore if he is given the right service.

Euro 2012 semi-final: Germany v Italy – see all goalscorer markets!

The Bayern Munich man is decent value at to 8/1 score first and 5/2 to notch at any time, especially if he can outmuscle Andrea Pirlo and outsmart Daniele de Rossi in between Italy’s defensive and midfield lines.

From that kind of position, the German star can either try his luck from distance or look to do occasionally cumbersome centre-back Andrea Barzagli for pace.

Also worthy of some investment is Mario Gomez, who is chasing the Golden Boot and will be desperate to add to his tally of three goals at the tournament thus far.

Italy looked vulnerable dealing with crosses in the early stages of their clash with the Three Lions and Gomez’s aerial presence and finishing ability could well come to the fore if he is given the right service.

The former Stuttgart target man is at 9/2 to break the deadlock but of more interest is the fair 3/2 on him scoring at some point inside the distance.

Punters registering with bwin receive a free £20 bet and placing this on Gomez to score against Italy would return if successful.

Italy may come to regret not having a man like Gomez, whose 9/2 odds of scoring last also look appealing, as both Mario Mandzukic and Cesc Fabregas have done the same against the Azzurri from the same position.

Having said that, Germany certainly won’t have it all their own way in Warsaw.

They’ve made it to this stage despite a series of defensively questionable performances, having conceded two against a weak Greece side and only keeping a clean sheet against Portugal – a match in which their crossbar was rattled on two occasions.

Italy also have a psychological edge, with an extremely favourable head-to-head record in major competitions which includes two brilliant semi-final victories in the 1970 and 2006 World Cups, with the latter achieved in Germany.

Among the Azzurri, Pirlo seems the cleverest play to find the back of the net at a price of 5/1, with his free-kicks being just one of the ways in which he can hit the target from range.

The Italian star’s majestic ‘panenka’ was the psychological turning point of the shoot-out against England and if anybody can deliver for Italy once more, it is the Juventus playmaker.

Though Prandelli’s men have improved as the tournament has progressed, they do still have one extremely un-Italian weakness which could cost them dear: their general profligacy in front of goal, which is partly the result of a lack of recognised strikers.

Still, I believe Mario Balotelli is a good long shot to score first at 8/1, because when the going gets tough, he just seems to rise to the occasion.

The Manchester City man offered enough menace against England to suggest that he will get chances again and he is available at 5/2 to score at any time, while a price of 16/1 is offered on him netting a brace or better.

Italy can, otherwise, always count on Antonio Nocerino: with Thiago Motta and Riccardo Montolivo both starting before him, the Milan midfielder has had to do things the hard way, impressing with his all-action approach and an offside goal against England.

With a batch of important goals under his belt – including one at the Nou Camp in the Champions League last season – the man affectionately known as “Noce” could be worth a quid or two at 13/2 to hit the back of the net.

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