Bologna’s Renato Dall’Ara is ready for a Nations League meeting between Italy and Turkey, with Roberto Mancini reshaping the Azzurri side for a 20:45 kick-off in the fourth round of the group stage.
A decisive evening in Bologna
France lead the section on seven points, followed by Belgium on six and Italy on four. Turkey remain without a point, leaving both teams with clear reasons to seek a result in Emilia-Romagna.
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 7 |
| 2 | Belgium | 6 |
| 3 | Italy | 4 |
| 4 | Turkey | 0 |
- Italy travelled to Bursa last week for the first Nations League encounter with Turkey.
- The Azzurri won that match convincingly, 4-1.
- The return fixture now takes place in Bologna, where Italy can strengthen their position behind the leading pair.
Mancini makes nine changes
Mancini has altered nine players from the Italy team used against France. Gianluigi Donnarumma starts in goal, behind a back four of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Gianluca Mancini, Alessandro Bastoni and Matteo Ruggeri.
Nicolò Barella, Romano and Doumbia form the midfield, while Vergara, Gianluca Scamacca and Daniel Maldini make up the attacking line.
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Ruggeri; Barella, Romano, Doumbia; Vergara, Scamacca, Maldini.
Turkey without Güler and Yilmaz
Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey arrive in Bologna missing two suspended players. Arda Güler is unavailable, as is Baris Yilmaz, scorer of Turkey’s only goal in this Nations League campaign.
Ugurcan Cakir is selected in goal. The Turkish defence contains Zeki Celik, Ozan Kabak, Eren Elmali, Abdülkerim Bardakci and Ferdi Kadioglu, with Irfan Can Kahveci, Ismail Yuksek, Salih Ozcan and Yunus Akgun supporting Simsir.
Turkey: Cakir; Celik, Kabak, Elmali, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Kahveci, Yuksek, Ozcan, Akgun; Simsir.
