One of the most entertaining games of the UEFA Nations League is set to take place on Monday, as Portugal and Italy lock horns in Group 3's second match in League A of the competition.
The Portuguese side will make its debut in the tournament without their brightest star, Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 decided to ask for a leave of absence in order to get himself settled in his new club, forcing Fernando Santos to call up other footballers.
The Portuguese side is expected to field some of their most experienced players for this game, which might include goalkeeper Rui Patricio, Pepe and Man City's Bernardo Silva. Santos' side will try to put up a better display than the one they showed during their friendly against Croatia, which saw them reach a 1-1 draw.
After being eliminated from the FIFA World Cup, Italy's re-building process has begun with mixed results. Their most recent match saw the Azzurri earn a one-all draw against Poland in their first group match of the UEFA Nations League, and now they can't afford to drop any more points if they don't want to be relegated to League B.
With only two players breaking the 30-year-old barrier, this Italian team will rely on some of their "veteran" footballers such as Mario Balotelli, who will have to step up and lead the Azzurri if they don't want to add one more disappointment to the team's tarnished reputation.
Match facts
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Italy has beaten Portugal in 18 of their 25 previous meetings
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Portugal has only won five games against Italy.
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The most recent game between these teams took place in 2015. The Portuguese side claimed the win with a 1-0 score.
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Both of these teams have lost one of their most recent five games. The main difference is that Portugal's loss came in their FIFA WC clash vs Uruguay, while Italy lost a friendly game against France prior to the World Cup.
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The last competitive games between these teams took place in 1993, during the 1994 WC Qualifiers. Both of those games were won by Italy (3-1 in February and 1-0 in November)
