MATCH INFO
The much-anticipated Euro 2020 championships kick off on Friday, with Italy hosting fast-improving Turkey at the famous Stadio Olimpico, after a year of waiting.
While the Azzurri hope to take benefit of home ground advantage in Rome, their Turkish opponents are hoping to avoid loss in their first match of the tournament for the fifth time.
Team News
Italy will be without a key cog in the engine room on Friday, as PSG central midfielder Marco Verratti has been training alone for the past week, with Manuel Locatelli set to start the tournament's first game.
While Verratti's chronic knee ailment prohibits him from playing, Roberto Mancini's 26-man squad has few other fitness problems, so a lineup similar to the one that started the Azzurri's friendly win over the Czech Republic last week could be chosen.
As a result, Ciro Immobile of Lazio keeps his place at centre-forward ahead of Andrea Belotti, who struggled for goals late in the season, while Alessandro Florenzi's usual verve from right-back should be available, as he is poised to shake off a muscular injury to start on his former home ground.
Their opponents, like the Italians, are anticipated to name an XI that closely resembles Senol Gunes' lineup from last week's warm-up triumph against Moldova.
As Turkey's line-leader, Burak Yilmaz should take the goal-scoring load, with Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu cutting in from the left and Yusuf Yazici beginning behind him.
In defense, Juventus centre-back Merih Demiral is expected to start with Caglar Soyuncu of Leicester City, though the Crescent-Stars have a number of other possibilities, including Liverpool loanee Ozan Kabak and Sassuolo's Kaan Ayhan.
Okay Yokuslu, who shone in the Premier League, is most likely to start as the holding midfielder in a possible 4-1-4-1 system, while Cengiz Under, who returned to the Olimpico following a loan spell at Leicester, is a candidate to replace Kenan Karaman out wide.
Turkey possible starting lineup:
Cakir;
Meras, Demiral, Soyuncu, Celik; Yokuslu; Calhanoglu, Tufan, Under; Yazici;
Yilmaz
Italy possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma;
Chiellini, Bonucci, Florenzi, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Locatelli;
Berardi, Immobile, Insigne
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