Italy hots England in an international friendly in Turin at Juventus Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Both sides have undergone a revolution since the Azzurri tamed the Three Lions 2-1 in the jungle of Manaus in the opening group match at last year’s World Cup where Mario Balotelli’s header past Joe Hart secured victory and gave fleeting hope to a nation.
Italy are mired in controversy as off-the-pitch distractions sparked by the call ups of Eder and Franco Vazquez and allegations of working players too hard led to death threats against coach Antonio Conte over Claudio Marchisio’s injury have unsettled an already shaky national team psyche.
The squad complicated matters on Saturday night by requiring a late goal from Eder to rescue a 2-2 draw in Sofia against Bulgaria in a Euro 2016 qualification match marred by defensive lapses and wasted chances.
England are fresh off a 4-0 thumping of Lithuania in their European qualifier on Friday but face a bit of an injury crisis with in-form striker Danny Welbeck having limped off the field in Wembley, forward Raheem Sterling and midfielder James Milner out with toe and knee injuries respectively, while Everton left back Leighton Baines will also miss the trip to Turin.
Former Inter and Udinese coach Roy Hodgson has withstood a press as unrelenting and demanding as the Italian media for three years and vowed to field an experimental squad for the encounter in Turin in an attempt to discover if any new players merit consideration for England’s best starting 11.
The change is already underway with Tottenham Hotspurs striker Harry Kane earning his first England cap on Friday and scoring within moments of his debut to spur England to a perfect record in five Euro qualifiers.
Conte is likely to feature a new attacking duo as he has stated he would like to use the England match as a proving ground for some younger players and Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza have failed to failed to impress.
The forwards featured must face an English side which has only surrendered a single goal in its five qualifying matches thanks largely to the play of central defenders Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill and holding midfielder Jordan Henderson who have excelled in front of a rarely tested Hart.
Davide Santon and Ignazio Abate were called up after the Bulgaria match to replace Matteo Darmian and Manuel Pasqual as Conte has struggled to find the correct balance for his wing-backs who were far too often providing poor service and exposing the Azzurri’s three man back line on Saturday. Gianluigi Buffon returned to practice on Sunday and is expected to feature after missing the Bulgaria match with the flu.
History favors the Azzurri as they hold an overall 11-6-8 mark against the English including victories in four of the last five encounters dating back to 2000.
Expected Starting XIs
Italy (3-5-2): Buffon; Ranocchia, Bonucci, Moretti; Darmian, Parolo, Verratti, Candreva, Santon; Cerci, Pellè.
England (4-2-3-1): Hart; Walker, Smalling, Jagielka, Gibbs; Henderson, Mason; Walcott, Barkley, Townsend; Kane.
