Despite finishing comfortably on top of their group during their World Cup qualifying campaign, Italy have disappointed during their friendly outings so far this year with a 1-0 loss to Spain followed by a scoreless stalemate against the Republic of Ireland. In fact, Cesare Prandelli's men have not won a single match since September 2013 when they successfully defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 and concluded 2013 with four consecutive draws to Denmark, Armenia, Germany, and Nigeria.
However, given the status of opponents Luxembourg, who have never participated in a World Cup, let alone a EURO tournament, gli Azzurri are the obvious favourites to come out victorious, which obviously will give them a bit of confidence before battling it out with England ten days later in Brazil. Additionally, this could possibly give Prandelli an opportunity to test out new formations and try out players who have not featured as much for the national side.
The Azzurri boss faced some heavy criticism for omitting Fiorentina star Giuseppe Rossi from his final list of 23, despite the fact that the 27-year-old had been Serie A's leading scorer until suffering a knee injury and had fought back to secure a spot in the provincial squad. Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivo, who has been a mainstay of the national side under Prandelli, will also miss the World Cup due to breaking his leg in the friendly versus Ireland.
Tonight's match should be no more than a training exercise for the EURO 2012 runners up
Luxembourg are currently ranked 112th in the world, so not surprisingly, in their past eight meetings, Italy have easily defeated their opponents by an aggregate score of 24-1. And, discouragingly for Lions Rouge (Red Lions) supporters, they, too have not won a game since last September and more important, were humiliated 5-1 in their friendly with Belgium in which Romelu Lukaku grabbed himself a hat-trick.
All in all, this should obviously be a walk in the park for the 2006 World Cup winners in which they really should not have to exert themselves too much. Yet, despite losing one of his favourite players in the London friendly, he has opted, according to a recent report, to field a strong starting lineup with the likes of Buffon, Chiellini, Pirlo, De Rossi, Verratti, Marchisio, and Balotelli among his starting XI.
The Rossoneri's striker's inclusion in tonight's match is interesting as according to some reports, the 23-year-old has been complaining of fitness issues, so it remains to be seen if a last minute change will be made or he will feature.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Italy vs Luxembourg live on Wednesday, June 4, 2014:
In Canada at 14.45 ET on: Sportsnet World Online, Sportsnet World, RAI International
In the US at 14.45 EST on: Univision Deportes, RAI International
In Italy at 20.45 CET on: RAI Uno
For more live listings and scores of this friendly, visit the Italy vs. Luxembourg match page.
