Italy probable lineup vs Northern Ireland: Locatelli links up with Tonali | OneFootball

Manuel Locatelli is expected to be the solitary Juventus representative in the Italy starting lineup against Northern Ireland.

After finishing second in their qualifying group, the Azzurri will have to negotiate their way to the World Cup through the playoffs.

Based on their previous two experiences in the stage, the entire nation has been dreading a third straight catastrophic failure for Italian football.

How Italy will line up against Northern Ireland

After months of ominous anticipation, the World Cup playoffs are finally upon us. On Thursday, Italy will host Northern Ireland in the semi-final. Whoever prevails this evening in Bergamo will book its place in the final against either Wales or Bosnia on Tuesday.

Gennaro Gattuso, the man entrusted with this delicate mission, has reportedly decided to field a 3-5-2 formation for this evening’s clash.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Gianluigi Donnarumma will naturally start between the sticks, with Gianluca Mancini, Alessandro Bastoni, and Riccardo Calafiori ahead of him.

Nevertheless, Bastoni has been out of action in recent weeks, and only returned to full training on Wednesday. Therefore, his availability isn’t fully confirmed.

If the Inter stalwart fails to pass a late athletic test, he could be replaced by either Napoli’s Alessandro Buongiorno or Juve’s Federico Gatti.

In the wing-back slots, Federico Dimarco was always guaranteed a starting role over Andrea Cambiaso, while Matteo Politano has reportedly prevailed in his ballot against Marco Palestra on the right side.

Locatelli expected to start, Cambiaso & Gatti on the bench

Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli will operate as a deep-lying playmaker, with Nicolo Barella and Sandro Tonali occupying the box-to-box slots. The Newcastle star also had to overcome a slight injury problem to make himself available.

Finally, Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui are the favourites to keep their starting roles up front, but the in-form Francesco Pio Esposito is pushing for a spot.

Italy Probable XI (3-5-2): Donnarumma; Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco; Kean, Retegui