Italy give Mirko Valdifiori and Eder their first starts against Harry Kane’s England in tonight’s Turin friendly.
It kicks off at the Juventus Stadium at 19.45 UK time, follow the action on our LIVEBLOG.
Most eyes will be on the stands rather than the pitch, as there is feverish speculation about how the local Bianconeri supporters will greet Coach Antonio Conte.
Italy give Mirko Valdifiori and Eder their first starts against Harry Kane’s England in tonight’s Turin friendly.
It kicks off at the Juventus Stadium at 19.45 UK time, follow the action on our LIVEBLOG.
Most eyes will be on the stands rather than the pitch, as there is feverish speculation about how the local Bianconeri supporters will greet Coach Antonio Conte.
He left the club just one day into pre-season training, having won three consecutive Scudetto titles.
Relations have been frosty ever since and a knee injury to Claudio Marchisio during international duty this week – which eventually proved to be minor – even sparked death threats towards the Coach after a furious public row with Juventus patron John Elkann.
This friendly follows on from Saturday’s 2-2 European qualifier in Bulgaria, where Eder came off the bench to score on his debut.
Sampdoria’s Brazil-born striker Eder starts tonight with Southampton’s Graziano Pellè in a very experimental formation.
Empoli midfielder Mirko Valdifiori gets his Azzurri debut, joined in midfield by Lazio’s Marco Parolo and another Samp player, Roberto Soriano.
Gigi Buffon returns in goal after missing the Bulgaria match due to flu symptoms.
England thrashed Lithuania 4-0 in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday, so had an extra day of rest, while it’s a return to Italian soil for ex-Inter and Udinese boss Roy Hodgson.
Tottenham hitman Kane scored 79 seconds into his senior England debut, coming off the bench, but tonight will be his first start.
He partners Theo Walcott, with Wayne Rooney taking a deeper role.
The Three Lions are looking for an eighth consecutive victory, but are still smarting from the 2-1 defeat to Italy at the World Cup in Brazil.
England do tend to take friendlies very seriously, whereas the Azzurri have won just two non-competitive games in the last three years.
Italy: Buffon; Ranocchia, Bonucci, Chiellini; Darmian, Parolo, Valdifiori, Soriano, Florenzi; Eder, Pellè
England: Hart; Clyne, Smalling, Jagielka, Gibbs; Henderson, Jones, Delph; Rooney; Kane, Walcott