Two compact European sides Italy and the Netherlands lock horns in the UEFA Nations League 2020-21 in Bergamo on Wednesday evening.
Match Timings: Oct 15, 12:15 AM
Team Preview
Group A1 is wide open with Netherlands and Poland's defeats as both sides stay with 4 points, just one point behind to Itlay who had just one win out of three. Italy kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina but later, defeated Netherlands 1-0, followed by a goalless draw with Polland. The Azzurri's attack was pretty sharp in their previous international game with Moldova in a friendly match. Itlay scored 6 goals agaisnt a weak opponent, courtesy of a brace from Shaarawy. The goalless draw with Polland created some questions on their attack. In second-leg fixtures, they would aim to boost their top spot. Roberto Mancini's side is unbeaten across 18 matches since September 2018. They also have a better record with the Netherlands, losing only three games of their previous 22 encounters.
Meanwhile, Netherlands started off with a 1-0 victory against Polland but dropped points in next two matches, including a defeat against Italy and draw with Bosnia. In international encounter last week, Frank de Boer’s side lost to Mexico 1-0. De Boer’s start was not so good with Oranje with one loss and one goalless draw. The Netherlands didn’t even score a single goal in the previous three encounters. In the last outing against Bosnia, Luuk de Jong almost came close to the strike but Ibrahim Sehic saved the goal. Dutch’s last win against Itlay came in Euro 2008 and they are winless from last six meetings.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Italy
Ciro Immobile and defender Giorgio Chiellini are likely to get the recall on Tuesday.
Lineup: Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Chiellini, Biraghi; Verratti, Jorginho, Barella; Chiesa, Immobile, El Shaarawy
Nations League form: D W D
Netherlands
Memphis Depay will be back after missing out the previous game. Georginio Wijnaldum is expected to retain his place in the side.
Lineup: Cillessen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Blind; De Roon, De Jong, Wijnaldum; Berghuis, Depay, Promes
Nations League form: W L D
Key Players
Italy
Jorginho
l3 goals & 1 assist in Euro qualifiers 2020
l3 goals & 1 assist in Premier League 2020-21
Federico Chiesa
l1 goals & 3 assists in Euro qualifiers 2020
l1 goal & 1 assist in Serie A 2020-21
Netherlands
Luke De Jong
l1 goal in Euro qualifiers 2020
l2 goals in La Liga 2020-21
Memphis Depay
l6 goals & 7 assists in Euro qualifiers 2020
l4 goals in Ligue 1 2020-21
