This past Friday, England made sure they comfortably remain at the top of Group E as they cruised to a straightforward win over Lithuania, with Tottenham man-of-the-moment Harry Kane grabbing lots of attention and praise following his debut strike for the Three Lions. Unfortunately, the 4-0 victory over the visiting side came at a cost for Roy Hodgson as he will now have to travel to Italy without a host of players.
Both Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling, who also scored against the Lithuanians in their EURO 2016 qualifier will not be able to take to the pitch at Juventus' home ground. The Arsenal striker unfortunately suffered a knee injury and his Liverpool counterpart is struggling with a toe problem. Additionally, according to reports in England, Manchester City's James Milner as well as Everton's Leighton Barnes will take no part in this friendly.
If England had no trouble maintaining their unbeaten record so far in qualifying, the same cannot be said for Italy. Pitted against Bulgaria on the road, Antonio Conte's men were dangerously close to losing their first competitive fixture against them since April 1968. Prior to the match, Italy were tied with Croatia on points, yet behind the Vatreni on goal difference. But earlier in the day, Niko Kovac's men had pummeled Norway 5-1 to not just make sure they remain top of their group but also to build up a nice buffer in terms of goal advantage.
Were it not for debutant Eder's late strike to salvage a draw, the Azzurri not only would have lost to Bulgaria for the first time in nearly 47 years but also would have seen themselves three points behind a Croatian side that has just conceded two goals so far in qualifiers.
Like Hodgson, Conte has lost some players due to injury. The former Juventus coach saw Claudio Marchisio depart team camp following a knee injury, and now has opted to call up Davide Stanton and Ignazio Abate to replace the injured Manual Pasqual and Matteo Darmian, the latter of whom suffered a nasty facial gash during the clash against Bulgaria. To complicate things, playmaker Andrea Pirlo is still nursing a leg strain that has kept him out of action for the past few weeks but captain Gigi Buffon, who missed out versus the Bulgarians with flu has recovered enough to skipper the side in a few days' time.
The last time the Three Lions met the Azzurri was during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Goals from Marchisio and Mario Balotelli were enough to give then-Italy coach Cesare Prandelli a win and cancel out Daniel Sturridge's effort at equalizing. However, the tournament ended in disappointment for both European sides as Uruguay and surprise package Costa Rica were the two to navigate their way out of their quartet.
Given the popularity and class of both teams, the upcoming friendly has generated a lot of buzz. Security will apparently be tightened following Italian reports of death threats being aimed at Conte by some Bianconeri fans recently.
Statistically, Italy and England have met 25 times, with eight wins for England, ten for Italy, and seven stalemates. The Three Lions have won only two out of their last 12 matches versus the Azzurri, with the other 10 games concluding as seven victories for the Italians and three draws between the two.
Will England exact revenge on Italy for their loss in Brazil last summer? Or will the Azzurri continue their unbeaten streak across all competitions under new coach Conte?
Make sure tune in to this one!
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