Antonio Conte is likely to change 9 of his starting XI, having already topped the group but stating and repeating that they will not lower their attentions in this final group match. It’s a different matter for Ireland who can only go through by winning this game and even then it wouldn’t be mathematically guaranteed, since It would depend on the result between Sweden and Belgium.
Italy will stay in this game for sure, but two of the three of the Azzurri’s BBC (Barzagli-Bonucci-Chiellini) plus Buffon won’t be on the pitch. And changing so much in defence is always slightly risky as it affects the tactical mechanism. As a result this game could be more open than expected, considering that Ireland have to attack. Attacking against a changed Italy defence they could easily get chances, but they could also leave themselves open to the counter attack as a result. ‘Both Teams To Score’ is the way to go in this one at 7/5.