GROUP EIGHT:FOR TONIGHT'S home World Cup qualifier against Georgia in Udine, Italian coach Marcello Lippi will make at least three, injury-enforced changes from the side that struggled to a 2-1 away win against Cyprus last Saturday.
Juventus central defender Nicola Legrottaglie, recent Liverpool signing Andrea Dossena and Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani are all expected to start in place of Alessandro Gamberini, Fabio Grosso and Gennaro Gattuso, all injured.
Lippi seems likely to start with an attacking 4-3-3 formation with the front line made up of Mauro Camoranesi, Alberto Gilardino and Antonio Di Natale, scorer of the two goals that gave Italy a fortuitous win against Cyprus.
All too aware that his team were far from impressive against the enterprising Cypriots, Lippi yesterday said he was looking for a much improved performance: "The objective here is to develop our game, to win without struggling so much and, frankly, to play better. I will be starting with three or four new players. We're not 100 per cent fit and so it's not the best to play every three days. Changes are needed.
Di Natale definitely plays, as for (striker) Luca Toni you'll find out tomorrow . . ." Toni, one of Italy's big disappointments at Euro 2008 this summer and again seemingly off form against Cyprus, may well lose his place to Alberto Gilardino.
The Fiorentina striker has been a much less prolific goalscorer than Toni over the last 12 months but his mobility and work rate make him a useful option up front, as witnessed by the clever little touch with which he initiated the move that prompted Di Natale's 92nd minute winner against Cyprus.
Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi will again form the midfield hub, probably partnered by Aquilani, who featured in Italy's Euro 2008 quarter-final defeat by Spain. Legrottaglie, back in the Italian side after a four-year absence, wins his ninth cap in central defence whilst the ex-Udinese defender Dossena earns just his second cap, playing in front of his former club fans.
Georgia's Argentine coach Hector Cuper, still insists that the ongoing tensions between Georgia and Russia played a major role in his side's disappointing performance in their 2-1 loss to the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. Like Lippi, Cuper is expected to ring the changes but one player who holds his place is goalkeeper Giorgio Loria, guilty of a serious error for Ireland's second goal on Saturday: "Loria is not (Italy's Gianluigi) Buffon, but he deserves another chance," Cuper said.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
ITALY:Buffon; Zambrotta, Legrottaglie, Cannavaro, Dossena; Aquilani, Pirlo, De Rossi; Camoranesi, Gilardino, Di Natale.
GEORGIA:Loria; Lobjanidze, Khizanishvili, Kaladze, Shashiashvili; Kobiashvili, Odikadze, Menteshashvili, Kenia; Iashvili, Mchedlidze.
Referee:Thomas Einwaller (Austria)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)