Switzerland won't roll over in huge Italy match
It's crunch time in the UEFA section of FIFA World Cup qualification for Qatar next year. Both hosts Italy and visitors Switzerland know they're assured of at least a play-off place, and their showdown clash at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome will almost certainly determine who reaches the tournament automatically. Read our preview here:
Bon chance
Head coach Roberto Mancini will welcome back Leonardo Bonucci to partner Gio Chiellini as the duo look to reach perhaps their final international competition for the Azzurri. The former served a one-match ban in the Nations League third-place triumph over fellow giants Belgium, and the restoration of their partnership will help to quell doubts about their efficacy in defence, especially in matches where they're often not called upon in open play. Elsewhere, Roma duo Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolò Zaniolo have both pulled out of the squad through injury, reducing the first class options at left-back and midfield respectively. Nicolò Barella is also a doubt, but remains with the group, and could be risked in the winner-takes-all clash. Andrea Belotti is set to fight it out with Federico Bernadeschi to determine who plays through the middle of the front three, with Ciro Immobile's track record costing him his place.
Shake Shaq
Murat Yakin's plans have been decimated by injuries to key figures in attack, which might prompt an ironically risky 'safety first' strategy to frustrate the Euro 2020 winners. Without either Breel Embolo or Haris Serferovic, the focus of their final third will shift to Mario Gavranović. Though the 31 year old is adept at defending from the front, he is not as strong aerially as his missing compatriots, meaning that the vast majority of their approach will be on the ground. It's also unlikely they'll be asked to press high as a team, conceding vast swathes of territory in the process. As ever though, Xherdan Shaqiri is capable of conjuring up the spectacular from nothing. Now regularly starting at Lyon, his task will be to elude the clutches of Jorginho in open play, and avoid being marked out of the game. Achieve that, and Nati will have a fighting chance of going toe-to-toe.
Bulgar wheat from the chaff
Switzerland cast off the 'boring and out in the first knockout round' narrative that had hung around them for decades with their defeat of France at the Euros, and even shorn of some of their goal-getters, they still have the nous to upset Italy. The pair will face Bulgaria (home) and Northern Ireland (away) respectively in their final games, and whilst they'd be favourites, neither represent a guaranteed three points, firmly putting the onus back on a decisive outcome here. With Parimatch though, there are odds of 3.80 for a draw that would send it down to the wire.
