Italy vs England: Euro 2024 Qualifier Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Fantasy XI

Italy vs England on Thursday with both sides bidding to make a winning start to their 2024 European Championship qualifying campaign.

Match Details:

• Location: Naples, Italy
• Stadium: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
• Date: Thursday 23 March
• Kick-off Time: 19:45 GMT / 15:45 ET / 11:45 PT
• Referee: Srdjan Jovanović (SRB)
• VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)

Italy vs England: Euro Match Preview:

The Azzurri are looking to get back among the elites of international football, having shockingly failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

Their recent history in European Championships is far more encouraging as the current holders of the trophy.

As for England, they remain without any silverware since 1966. They have come closer to glory in recent times but have been unable to get over that final hurdle.

Team News:

Italy:

The hosts are without several big names, most notably Federico Chiesa and Ciro Immobile. The pair both suffered minor injuries earlier this month that have kept them out of the international break. Federico Dimarco and Ivan Provedel also withdrew from the squad.

On the other hand, four players could be given their Azzurri debuts. Goalkeepers Marco Carnesecchi and Wladimiro Falcone have been included in the senior squad for the first time, while centre-back Alessandro Buongiorno and Mateo Retegui could also earn their first caps.

England:

England are also without a few of their biggest stars. Raheem Sterling was omitted from the squad through injury, and Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Nick Pope all pulled out.

The only potential debutant in Southgate's roster is Brentford striker Ivan Toney. The 27-year-old was included in the squad in October but didn't feature.

Italy vs England: Head to Head:

Italy have a good historical record against England and have won 13 out of the 30 matches that have been played by the two teams, as opposed to England's eight victories.

England are winless in their last six matches against Italy in all competitions, with their previous victory against the Azzurri coming by a 2-1 scoreline in 2012.

The last five matches between the two teams have produced a total of four draws, with the previous game taking place last year and ending in a narrow 1-0 victory for Italy.

Predicted Line-ups:

Italy potential starting line-up: (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Franco Acerbi, Leonardo Spinazzola; Jorginho, Marco Verratti, Nicolo Barella; Domenico Berardi, Gianluca Scamacca, Wilfried Gnonto.

England potential starting line-up: (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford; Reece James, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Luke Shaw; Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson; Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden; Harry Kane.