After being held to a draw by North Macedonia in his first game in charge, Italy boss Luciano Spalletti will attempt to claim his first victory of his tenure when his side face Ukraine in Milan on Tuesday.

Ukraine head into the Euro 2024 qualifying clash in second place in Group C, while Italy are three points further back in third position, having played a game fewer.

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After Roberto Mancini left his position as Italy's head coach to become Saudi Arabia's new boss, the Italian federation tempted Spalletti out of his self-imposed sabbatical.

Just four months on from guiding Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years, Spalletti was back in the managerial dugout for Saturday's Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia.

Facing North Macedonia for the first time since losing 1-0 in last year's World Cup qualifying playoff, Italy looked on course to get revenge when their captain Ciro Immobile headed home the opening goal in the 47th minute, but a late Enis Bardhi free kick ensured that Italy left Skopje with just a point to show for their efforts.

While Italy's third-placed finish in the recent edition of the UEFA Nations League has made sure of a playoff place, they will be desperate to avoid that backup option, and their hopes of qualifying automatically will be boosted if they win on Tuesday to leapfrog Ukraine into second position.

Although the Azzurri lost to England in their previous home game, that result represented their first home defeat in European Championship qualifying since September 1999, highlighting the success that Tuesday's hosts tend to enjoy in front of their own supporters.

Since losing 2-0 to England in their opening match of Euro 2024 qualifying, Ukraine have embarked on a positive run of results to pick up seven points from three matches and move into second place.

After claiming consecutive victories over North Macedonia and Malta in June, Sergiy Rebrov's side returned to action on Saturday with an impressive display against the Three Lions in Poland, where the designated hosts were playing due to the ongoing war with Russia.

Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko put his country in front in the 26th minute when he guided the ball home from Yukhym Konoplya's cutback before Kyle Walker equalised in the closing moments of the first period.

With neither side able to find a winner in the second half, Ukraine celebrated a crucial point which leaves them in a promising position in Group C, as they bid to reach a fourth consecutive European Championships.

Ukraine have never beaten Italy in eight attempts (D2, L6), but while a maiden victory would be considered a massive achievement, their main priority will be to collect a point from their trip to Milan.

Team News

Federico Chiesa and Lorenzo Pellegrini pulled out of the Italy squad prior to Saturday's draw with North Macedonia, and Spalletti has now been dealt two further injury blows.

Roma defender Gianluca Mancini and Napoli attacker Matteo Politano have both left the camp due to thigh and calf problems respectively.

While Spalletti opted against calling up a replacement for Mancini, Bologna's Riccardo Orsolini has been added to the squad following Politano's withdrawal.

As for the visitors, Nikolai Matvienko is a doubt for Tuesday's contest after being forced off at half time against England due to an injury issue.

Inter Miami's Sergiy Kryvstov replaced Matvieko on Saturday, and he could be handed a starting opportunity if the Shakhtar Donetsk defender is unable to feature in Milan.

Ukraine will be hoping that Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk will be passed fit after he was withdrawn in the 90th minute of Saturday's draw with a calf issue.

Italy possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Scalvini, Bastoni, Dimarco; Barella, Cristante, Tonali; Zaniolo, Zaccagni, Immobile

Ukraine possible starting lineup:
Bushchan; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Kryvstov, Mykolenko; Tsgankov, Stepanenko, Sudakov, Zinchenko, Mudryk; Yaremchuk

We say: Italy 2-1 Ukraine

Italy would have been disappointed to miss out on all three points on Saturday, but we think that they will channel that frustration into motivation for Tuesday's contest, where we believe that they will make full use of home advantage to claim their second win of the qualifying campaign.


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