Italy vs. Croatia: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Group H leaders Croatia and Italy will clash in a Euro 2016 qualifier at the iconic San Siro Stadium in Milan, with top spot and a clearer path to the final tournament in France on the line.

Both teams have taken nine out of nine possible points to start the campaign, conceding just a single goal between them. Expected to both feature in France in 2016, a match between European heavyweights will give managers a clear image of where their squads stand at this point of the qualifying campaign.

Fans should be the real winners on Sunday, however. Some of the world's best players will face off on the hallowed pitch of the San Siro. With top spot in Group H up for grabs, neither side will be pulling any punches.

Date: Sunday, Nov. 16

Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET

Venue: San Siro, Milan

TV info and live stream: The match will be broadcast on ITV 4 (for UK viewers) and Fox Sports 1 (for U.S. viewers), with mobile coverage available via the ITV player app and Fox Soccer 2Go.

Preview

Dino Panato/Getty Images

Sunday's clash is being brought to the fans in the spirit of Fair Play, with both teams taking part in a series of videos and making custom scarves and accessories for fans to enjoy. Giorgio Chiellini and Mateo Kovacic made their contributions:

While it's great to see both sides promoting Fair Play ahead of the match, Sunday's affair will be anything but friendly. Group H is one of the tightest qualifying groups we've seen so far, with Croatia and Italy leading the way.

Norway aren't too far behind, while Bulgaria also fancy their chances of making it to the final tournament. Sunday's winner would put at least a six-point gap between themselves and that duo, strengthening their bid for a top-two finish.

The hosts may be favoured more by the casual fan, but Croatia have quietly put together the more impressive campaign. While Italy struggled to a 1-0 win in Malta on Matchday 3, the Croatians thrashed Azerbaijan 6-0 at home.

Coach Antonio Conte shocked everyone by initially including Mario Balotelli in his squad for the first time since the 2014 World Cup, despite the Liverpool man struggling for form. The team's official Twitter feed shared the full selection:

Balotelli has since left the squad after suffering a hamstring injury, per BBC Sport, while Marco Verratti has also pulled out of the squad, via Bleacher Report's Jonathan Johnson:

The Croatian squad will see few surprises, although it is likely to differ greatly from the team that lost a friendly to Argentina 2-1 on Wednesday. As reported by Football Italia, Niko Kovac confirmed he rotated his squad with an eye on Sunday's fixture:

"

The reason for rotating [against Argentina] is simple. We have Italy on Sunday, and it’s a qualifier, so it’s more important and in that match the regulars will play.

Honestly we’re not happy to be playing Argentina before the Italy game, we’d have preferred it to be the other way round.

"

Croatia have yet to concede a single goal in qualifiers, but the Italian duo of Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza have impressed so far. 

The key to this match will likely rest in midfield. The group of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Kovacic have dominated opposing teams throughout the campaign, combining tons of possession with playmaking ability.

The loss of Verratti leaves the Azzurri short of world-class players in the centre of the pitch, with Andrea Pirlo left out of the squad on this occasion to rest his injuries.

Instead, Conte will likely attempt to work the ball wide as soon as possible and employ one of the weapons that has served his side best so far: balls over the top of the defence.

Taking advantage of Zaza's pace and Immobile's phenomenal timing, expect the Azzurri to stay back and try to limit space for Mario Mandzukic, aiming to inflict damage on the counter-attack.

Final prediction: Croatia have too much star power to be considered an underrated side but people are still dismissing their current run. They'll have a chance to prove they're legit on Sunday. Italy 1-1 Croatia.