After failing to win any of their last five fixtures, Italy will be eager to improve the atmosphere in the squad with a resounding victory over Republic of Ireland. Meanwhile, Martin O’Neill’s side arrive at Craven Cottage buoyed by the good performance against Turkey, but also disappointed by the second successive defeat.

Important game for the Azzurri

Unlike some other top sides, Italy rarely impress in qualifying campaigns, but the sheer quality of the players and extensive experience at the highest level tends to help them reach the final stages of the major competitions. If past campaigns are anything to go by, the Azzurri should again go far at a major tournament, given their results in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and friendly games have been well below par. Nevertheless, Cesare Prandelli has all his key players fit and ready for the tournament in Brazil and his charges can be expected to step up their game now that things are getting serious. The talented coach faces a real headache as he looks to trim down his provisional squad to 23 names, so we can expect his players to be extremely motivated when they face Republic of Ireland, as they will be playing for their places in the final World Cup squad. According to the latest reports, Prandelli is set to field a very strong line-up against Ireland and I believe the Azzurri can be trusted to kick off their World Cup preparations in style.

Cesare Prandelli has no fresh injury worries at the moment, with Ciro Immobile and Giuseppe Rossi expected to lead the attack in a 4-3-1-2 formation.

Unlucky defeat to Turkey

Long-serving coach Giovanni Trapattoni was sacked following the unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign, with Martin O’Neill brought to replace him. The team indeed showed some improvement since, but their lack of experience has cost them dearly in recent friendly games. And while the Irish were completely outclassed in the 2-1 home defeat to Serbia, they produced a very good performance few days ago against Turkey, but eventually had to settle for a 2-1 loss. Considering that Martin O’Neill fielded his strongest line-up at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, chances are he will give some fringe players a chance to shine against Italy, which should further damage team’s chances of avoiding the third straight defeat. Republic of Ireland side have always had problems when playing on the road and having failed to register a single goal in last five away matches in all competitions, they cannot be expected to fare any better against rock-solid Azzurri.

Derby County trio Richard Keogh, Jeffrey Hendrick and Conor Sammon could play a part after missing the Turkey clash, whilst Jon Walters, David Meyler and Stephen Quinn are among those expected to start.

Verdict

Having failed to impress in previous friendly matches, Italy players will be very motivated to defeat Ireland as well as nail down their places in the final World Cup squad. Meanwhile, Martin O’Neill is expected to leave several star players out and I just cannot see his team getting something from this match.

Top pick: Home win   1.53 (8/15) @ William Hill

Alternative pick 1: Italy/Italy   2.50 (3/2) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Italy to win to nil   2.50 (3/2) @ SkyBet