Antonio Conte will name his Italy squad to face Croatia and Albania, which could include Manolo Gabbiadini and Stephan El Shaarawy.
The Azzurri host Croatia in a crunch Euro 2016 qualifier at San Siro on Sunday November 16.
Antonio Conte will name his Italy squad to face Croatia and Albania, which could include Manolo Gabbiadini and Stephan El Shaarawy.
The Azzurri host Croatia in a crunch Euro 2016 qualifier at San Siro on Sunday November 16.
They then take on Albania in a friendly at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Tuesday November 18, set to raise funds for those affected by recent floods in Genoa.
Conte’s squad won’t be released until later this evening, but there are strong reports Sampdoria will feature heavily in the list.
The Coach was in the stands at Marassi last night for Samp’s 2-2 draw with Milan and could not ignore a team that is flying high in third place.
Forward Gabbiadini is widely expected to receive a call-up, but he could well be joined by Sampdoria teammates Roberto Soriano and Stefano Okaka.
Genoa midfielder Andrea Bertolacci is also tipped for a call, while Graziano Pellè is a guarantee after scoring on his full Italy debut and continuing his fine form at Southampton.
Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne and Roma forward Mattia Destro are other hopefuls.
Andrea Pirlo is set to miss out after being told he needs to rest for five days to heal from a bruised hip.
According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Coach Conte will call a new set of players purely for the friendly against Albania, including Lorenzo De Silvestri, Christian Maggio, Marco Parolo and Andrea Poli.
Probable Italy squad:
Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), Sirigu (PSG), Perin (Genoa)
Defenders: Ranocchia (Inter), Ogbonna (Juventus), Chiellini (Juventus), Darmian (Torino), Rugani (Empoli)
Midfielders: Cerci (Atletico Madrid), Candreva (Lazio), Insigne (Napoli), Florenzi (Roma), De Rossi (Roma), Verratti (PSG), Marchisio (Juventus), Bertolacci (Genoa), Soriano (Sampdoria), Bonaventura (Milan), Pasqual (Fiorentina), De Sciglio (Milan)
Forwards: Immobile (Borussia Dortmund), Zaza (Sassuolo), Pellè (Southampton), Giovinco (Juventus), Destro (Roma), Gabbiadini (Sampdoria), El Shaarawy (Milan), Okaka (Sampdoria)