Italy will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing defeat against England in their first Euro 2024 qualifier when they take on European minnows Malta on Sunday night.
Even though Roberto Mancini’s side put in an improved performance in the second half against England, it was a game that should never really have ended as tensely as it did.
Some heart will be taken from the fact that Wilfried Gnonto looked good off of the bench and Mateo Retegui got his first goal for Italy on his debut. He will want to build on his tally against a Malta side that was beaten 2-1 by North Macedonia in their opening qualifier on Thursday night.
Malta vs Italy: Predicted lineups
There is no getting away from the fact that Malta are not expecting to make any sort of dent in this qualification group which contains Italy, England, North Macedonia and Ukraine. They did put the squeeze on North Macedonia on Thursday though, getting a goal back in the 85th minute and chasing an equaliser for the final five minutes. It is assumed they will play a similar lineup again.
As for the Italians, there could be some rotation from Mancini as he tries to see which players can be the most effective in the absence of Ciro Immobile, Giacomo Raspadori, Federico Dimarco, Federico Chiesa and more.
Malta predicted XI vs Italy (5-3-2): Bonello; Mbong, Apap, Borg, Attard, Camenzuli; Guillaumier, Kristensen, Teuma; Mbong, Satariano.
Italy predicted XI vs Malta (4-3-3): Donarumma; Spinazzola, Scalvini, Acerbi, Darmian; Cristante, Jorginho, Barella; Politano, Retegui, Gnonto.
Malta vs Italy: When does the European qualifier start?
The European qualifier of Malta vs Italy is set to kick off at 20:45 CEST on Sunday which is the local time in Italy. That means it will be a 19:45 BST kick-off in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
For those in the United States of America, Malta vs Italy will get underway at 14:45 EDT/11:45 PDT.
Malta vs Italy: Where to watch the European qualifier?
For those wanting to watch Malta vs Italy in the United Kingdom, the game will be on Viaplay UK and Viaplay Sports 2. In the USA, Malta vs Italy can be watched on VIX+.
