Italy bring in Sandro Tonali and use Lorenzo Insigne as a False 9 with Domenico Berardi and Federico Chiesa against Northern Ireland in the decisive World Cup qualifier.
The Azzurri are joint top of their World Cup qualifying group with Switzerland, ahead only on goal difference, +11 to +9.
If they finish level on goal difference, then Switzerland will have the upper hand thanks to more away goals in their head-to-head record.
Ciro Immobile, Giorgio Chiellini, Davide Calabria, Cristiano Biraghi, Alessandro Bastoni, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolò Zaniolo all pulled out through injury, with Marco Verratti, Rafael Toloi and Leonardo Spinazzola already sidelined.
After the 1-1 draw with Switzerland, which saw Jorginho blast a stoppage-time penalty over the bar, Roberto Mancini drops Andrea Belotti and moves to a False 9 formation with Insigne, Chiesa and Berardi upfront.
Sandro Tonali of Milan is promoted to the senior squad from the Under-21s and takes over from Manuel Locatelli, while Francesco Acerbi is again at centre-back with Leonardo Bonucci.
Northern Ireland cannot qualify or get second place, but they are unbeaten at home in this group, keeping a clean sheet in every game.
They are fresh from a 1-0 win over Lithuania, their first competitive victory here in two-and-a-half years.
There were some doubts over Paddy McNair and Stuart Dallas, but both are passed fit to start.
Italy have never won in Belfast, managing just two draws and a defeat in 1958, which ruled them out of the World Cup that year.
Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell; Cathcart, Flanagan, J Evans, Lewis; S Davis; Dallas, McCann, Saville, Whyte; Magennis
Northern Ireland bench: Hazard, Southwood, Bradley, McGinn, Washington, Taylor, Ferguson, C Evans, Jones, Galbraith, Brown
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Acerbi, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Tonali; Berardi, Insigne, Chiesa
Italy bench: Meret, Cragno, Zappacosta, Ferrari, Locatelli, Scamacca, Belotti, Pessina, Cristante, Bernardeschi, Raspadori, Mancini
Ref: Kovacs (ROU)
I did not read anything about Ventura today, so rest assure everyone it will fine. 💪🏽🌊
Why acerbi instead of mancini
Italy look horrible. Slow ball movement. No midfield. Tons of passes but all just slow sideways passing amongst the defenders. They need to score goals and this is what they come up with? Horrible.
So pathetic and so predictable. We have gone backwards in the space of a few months. Who wants to watch this team at the WC anyway?
If I see Emerson pass backwards or Bonucci balloon a long pass to nobody again I’d throw my tv out the window.
WC on the line and Belotti comes in with 25 mins to go? The guy hasn’t scored a goal in the last decade.
Absolutely pathetic. The Euros win was a blip in the system and we have reverted back to the uninspired, slow and useless team from the Ventura days.
Couldn’t agree more Gman. Never liked the false 9 idea, but even after that changed they looked terrible. They could play 190 mins without scoring.