Bulgaria vs. Italy: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream & TV Info

Italy travel to Sofia on Saturday evening, taking on Bulgaria in their latest qualifying match, as the 2016 European Championships draw ever closer. On the surface, it should be a straightforward encounter for Antonio Conte’s men, with almost every statistic tilting in their favour before the encounter at the Vasil Levski National Stadium gets underway.

Having taken 10 points from their opening four games, the Azzurri currently sit atop of Group H alongside Croatia and have yet to lose since the former Juventus coach took over from Cesare Prandelli. Yet the team has struggled to truly impress thus far, failing to click in the way they previously had, and the new boss will hope this current international break finally see things fall into place.

They will have to cope without the injured Andrea Pirlo, which should mean Marco Verratti is handed the keys to the midfield, and Italy will also hope to overcome the fact several of their players are in poor form. The likes of Alessio Cerci, Ciro Immobile and Graziano Pelle have endured barren spells of late, while Simone Zaza has admitted rumours of a move during the January transfer window affected his own play.

Ivaylo Petev has problems of his own however, with his team having recorded just a solitary win over Azerbaijan in their qualifying campaign thus far. They have taken just four points from the same number of matches and will be desperately hoping to steal all three points in front of their home fans if they are to have any chance of achieving qualification to next summer’s tournament.

Date: Saturday, March 28

Time: 8:45 pm CET (7:45 pm GMT / 3:45 pm EDT)

Venue:Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

TV Info: RAI (Italy) Sky Sports 5 (U.K.)

Live Stream: SkyGo

Form Lines

Last five results:

Norway 0-2 Italy	Azerbaijan 1-2 Bulgaria
Italy 2-1 Azerbaijan	Bulgaria 0-1 Croatia
Malta 0-1 Italy	Norway 2-1 Bulgaria
Italy 1-1 Croatia	Bulgaria 1-1 Malta
Italy 1-0 Albania	Romania 0-0 Bulgaria

Predicted Line-ups

Bulgaria (4-2-3-1):Stoyanov; Terziev, Minev, Bodurov, Manolev; Milanov, Dyakov; Aleksandrov, Popov, Zlatinski; Galabinov

Italy (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Darmian, Parolo, Verratti, Candreva, Antonelli; Immobile, Zaza

Key Battle

Perhaps the one man who can cause problems for Italy is Ivelin Popov, the Kuban Krasnodar winger who has already registered five goals and three assists in the Russian Premier League this season. The 27-year-old has netted eight times in his 51 international caps, although he last struck against Armenia back in October 2013.

The task of stopping him is likely to fall to Torino’s Matteo Darmian, voted Italy’s Player of the Year for 2014 after being one of the only Azzurri stars to emerge from last summer’s World Cup with his reputation intact. The 25-year-old has quickly established himself as first-choice under Conte, able to play on either flank and gaining invaluable experience from his club’s run in the Europa League this term.

Player to Watch

While that clash will be important, perhaps the key figure Saturday could be Verratti, the young midfielder likely to be asked to control the side from Pirlo’s usual role. The Paris Saint-Germain star has earned just 10 caps for Italy, and he has been forced to look on as more experienced players take up places in the centre of the pitch.

That could all change here, and the 22-year-old must seize that opportunity, as he is unlikely to receive a second invitation from a coach like Conte. Verratti has been superb and consistent for the French side this term, weighing in with two goals and five assists in the current campaign.

His passing has been as accurate as ever, with only three players—Xabi Alonso, Yaya Toure and David Alaba—averaging more than his 87 attempts per game, according to WhoScored.com. Connecting with 91.2 percent of those, Italy will be looking to Verratti to dictate the play in Sofia.

Odds (via Odds Shark)

Home win: 100/161

Away win: 4/1

Draw: 3/1