Calafiori and Barella tipped to start in hybrid Italy formation with Albania

There are reports Italy plan to start Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori in a ‘hybrid’ system with Nicolò Barella joining Jorginho in midfield for the EURO 2024 opener against Albania.

It kicks off in Dortmund on Saturday at 20.00 UK time, just hours after Spain go head-to-head with Croatia in the same group.

The Azzurri have almost a full squad to choose from, although Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli is not fully fit with a bruised fibula.

Barella threw himself around in training to show he was ready and raring to go, despite only returning to work with the rest of the squad yesterday.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Luciano Spalletti is prepared to risk Barella from the start against Albania, rather than rest him for Bryan Cristante going into the Spain match on June 20 and Croatia on June 24.

The other surprise is that Bologna defender Calafiori could get the nod in a back four rather than Gianluca Mancini.

This is also because it is a 4-2-3-1 ‘hybrid’ formation where Giovanni Di Lorenzo can tuck in for a 3-4-2-1, allowing Federico Dimarco to push up on the left.

Federico Chiesa, Davide Frattesi and Lorenzo Pellegrini can all provide unpredictability when fanning out and swapping places in support of Gianluca Scamacca.

Probable Italy line-up vs. Albania

Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Calafiori, Bastoni, Dimarco; Jorginho, Barella; Chiesa, Frattesi, Pellegrini; Scamacca