Prior to this Saturday's clash, Bulgaria and Italy have met five times prior, and the stats do not look good in favour of the hosts. The Azzurri have yet to lose to the Lions so far, with three wins and two draws, but the four-time World Cup winners had to work hard in their 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against the Eastern European side, recording a 2-2 stalemate and battling to a slim 1-0 win in September 2012 and in 2013.
In terms of form, the hosts have not looked impressive, having just won one of their EURO 2016 qualifying games against bottom-placed Azerbaijan and dropping two valuable points against minnows Malta. On the other hand, Antonio Conte's side have looked pretty solid as they sit second in the table, behind Croatia on goal difference after drawing with the Vatreni 1-1 at the San Siro in November of last year.
Here's how Bulgaria and Italy stand in Group H ahead of their meeting in Sofia on March 28th
Fans will notice that there is still no room for mercurial striker Mario Balotelli in Conte's squad, as the 24-year-old has failed to impress so far in his tenure with Liverpool. However, some of the former Bianconeri coach's selections have caused a bit of rumblings across Italy, namely the addition of Eder and Franco Vazquez due to the Sampdoria and Palermo players having being born in Brazil and Argentina respectively, with Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini being one of the most outspoken critics.
However, Conte has defended his decision to give them their first call-ups due to their good performances for their clubs. Moreover, this is certainly not the first time Italy have included players born outside the country - with "oriundi" footballers like Thiago Motta, and 2006 World Cup winner Mauro Camoranesi having donned the Azzurri kit in recent times.
Meanwhile his opposing tactician Ivaylo Petev is facing the daunting task of guiding Bulgaria to their first major tournament since EURO 2004. Italy will be without midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo due to injury and interestingly there is no place for the combative Daniele De Rossi in Conte's set-up. The last time the hosts defeated the visitors was on September 25, 1991 in a 2-1 friendly match.
Yet, one would have to go way back to April 6, 1968 if one wanted to see when Bulgaria was able to find a way past Italy in an actual competitive fixture, which was during the1968 EURO tournament quarter-finals first leg which finished 3-2 in their favour. Unfortunately, it was not enough as the Azzurri successfully overturned this by winning the second leg 2-0 en route to earning their sole EURO trophy to date.
Given that their opponents are without some key players and some unfamiliar faces have been drafted into the squad, Petev just may be fancying his chances at pulling off an upset as they seek to work their way up the table. Yet, under Conte, Italy have been successfully grinding out result after result. They may not be the "prettiest" but any Serie A fan will certainly know from his tenure at Juventus that Petev's task will certainly be a lot easier said than done.
UPDATE: On Friday, March 27th, Italy were been dealt another blow as versatile Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio will not only miss the upcoming match, but the friendly clash with England next week. As per reports from Italy, the 29-year-old, who has been a key member for both club and country suffered a knee injury whilst in training.
Alessandro Florenzi and Manuel Pasqual are also set to miss out on the clash with Bulgaria, but reports indicate that Florenzi, who plays his club football for Roma, could return for the friendly meeting with England.
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