Last Saturday, Luciano Spalletti’s reign as Italy coach started on a low note, with the Azzurri dropping two valuable points in North Macedonia in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
The Italians had the most chances but could only score a single goal through Ciro Immobile. Towards the end of the match, the hosts equalized via a powerful freekick.
This sets up a must-win match for Italy who will host Ukraine at the San Siro Stadium on Tuesday night.
As Juventus fans have surely noticed, not a single Bianconero took the pitch last Saturday. Spalletti called up two Juve stars in his initial squad, but Federico Chiesa returned home prematurely after sustaining a slight knock, while Manuel Locatelli remained on he bench.
But according to Calciomercato, Loctatelli could replace Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante in the Regista role.
The former Sassuolo man would join Sandro Tonali (or Davide Frattesi) and Nicolo Barella in a three-man midfield.
Elsewhere, Gianluigi Donnarumma will maintain his position between the sticks despite the harsh criticism. Giorgio Scalvini will replace the injured Gianluca Mancini at the back.
The young Atalanta man should join Alessandro Bastoni and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, while Spalletti could favor Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi over Federico Dimarco.
Upfront, Italy captain Immobile should maintain his starting berth, but his supporting crew could witness some changes, with Nicolo Zaniolo and Giacomo Raspadori replacing Matteo Politano and Mattia Zaccagni.
Italy Probable Formation XI: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Scalvini, Bastoni, Biraghi; Barella, Locatelli, Tonali/Frattesi ; Zaniolo, Immobile, Raspadori
