England vs Italy: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Key Euro 2024 qualifier clash in Group C

Reuniting under the Wembley arch two years on from a gripping continental final, England and Italy do battle in a pivotal Euro 2024 qualifier in Group C on Tuesday evening. Three Lions struggled to penetrate the Socceroos backline - while having to survive a scare or two themselves - but with 12 minutes gone in the second half, Ollie Watkins stuck out a leg to clinch the win at the back stick.

As is the case with any underwhelming England display, debate raged over Southgate's choice of personnel and tactics against Graham Arnold's side, but a triumph is a triumph for the Three Lions, who now don their competitive caps with the chance to seal Euro 2024 qualification with two games to spare.

Becoming the oldest player to ever score his first Azzurri goal in some style, 34-year-old Giacomo Bonaventura curled home a wonderful opener before Domenico Berardi got in on the act with two sweetly struck efforts of his own, and as the clock was winding down, there was enough time for Davide Frattesi to prolong his golden streak in Italy colours to cap off a routine 4-0 victory.

Nothing less than a multiple-goal thumping would have been acceptable for the Azzurri in Bari, as Luciano Spalletti's team dropped points in the section last month, being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Macedonia, but Saturday's success has the champions sitting pretty in second place again. This will be an exciting clash between two quality teams.

Kick-Off:

Tuesday, 17th Oct 2023, 18-10-2023, 12:15 AM (IST), 06:45 PM (GMT), 02:45 PM (EST)

Form

England Form (All Competitions): W-W-W-D-W-W

Italy Form (All Competitions): W-L-W-D-W-W

Players to Watch

Declan Rice (England)

Rice is a leader on and off the pitch for his team. Rice has swiftly become an integral member of Gareth Southgate's team and at the club level. Rice is a defensive-minded player who does his best work winning the ball and protecting his defence.

His seamless conversion from a central defender into a defensive midfielder where he has shown a real talent for delaying and breaking up attacks, particularly at the point of an attacking transition for his opponents has proved just how naturally that side of the game comes to him. Rice is a tenacious player, strong in the tackle and combative in the air. He is two-footed and able to jockey opponents in either direction and to turn and sprint either way should his opponent knock the ball past him and try and beat him for pace. 

Manuel Locatelli (Italy)

Locatelli is primarily deployed as a deep-lying midfielder, usually operating in an attacking role in front of the team's defence.  A versatile midfielder, he can also play in a box-to-box role, or as a mezzala in a 4–3–3 formation, although this is not his preferred position; he has occasionally even been used as an attacking midfielder, a position in which he was initially fielded in his youth, before being moved into a deeper midfield role.

While not particularly fast, he is an elegant and quick-thinking player, who possesses excellent vision, passing, ball control, technique, and dribbling skills, as well as a powerful and accurate shot from long range. His reading of the game, defensive work rate, tactical intelligence, and ball-winning abilities are also optimal for a defensive midfielder.

Match Facts

• The most common result of matches between England and Italy is 1-1. 3 matches have ended with this result.
• England haven't lost in their last 7 games.
• When playing at home, England have not conceded a goal so far this season.

Injury and Team News in England vs Italy

Gareth Southgate has no shortage of options, despite Bukayo Saka, Reece James and Ben Chilwell missing through injury. The England boss may make a few changes in defence, with John Stones potentially featuring at centre-back.

Prior to the four-goal drubbing of Malta, Premier League duo Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo were both caught up in the recent gambling allegations and withdrew from the Italy camp; Juventus' Nicolo Fagioli is also under investigation but was not called up anyway. In addition, Fagioli's clubmate Federico Chiesa joined Ivan Provedel and Mattia Zaccagni on the injury withdrawals list with a muscular problem.

Head-to-Head

Matches: 31

England: 9

Italy: 13

Draws: 9

Predicted Lineup for England vs Italy

England Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Trippier; Alexander-Arnold, Rice; Foden, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane

Italy Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Dimarco; Frattesi, Locatelli, Barella; Berardi, Raspadori, Kean

Match Prediction for England vs Italy

Even after injury issues Italy was able to register a comfortable victory over Malta. But facing quality opposition they will face a lot of difficulties.

England were far from convincing in their success over the Socceroos, but with a plethora of well-rested stars returning to the Wembley turf, another hard-fought win will do the trick and seal qualification for next year's showpiece with two games to spare.

Prediction: England 2-0 Italy

Telecast

India: Sony Sports Network, Jio TV

UK: Channel 4, Viaplay Sports

USA: Fox Sports

Nigeria: FIFA+