Striker doubt and Frattesi return: Italy team with Ukraine

Luciano Spalletti is expected to make three or four changes to the starting XI against Ukraine, with Davide Frattesi and Giovanni Di Lorenzo coming in, but Giacomo Raspadori could feature in one of two roles.

It kicks off on neutral turf in Leverkusen on Monday at 19.45 GMT.

Thanks to the 2-1 result at San Siro in September, Italy only need a point to be sure of qualification for the EURO 2024 group phase, as a draw would give them a superior head-to-head record.

The man who scored both goals that day is Frattesi, who should again step into the midfield to replace Giacomo Bonaventura.

Napoli captain Di Lorenzo was suspended for the 5-2 victory over North Macedonia, but returns here in place of Matteo Darmian, while Federico Gatti and Francesco Acerbi are again the most reliable centre-backs available.

This is because Alessandro Bastoni, Giorgio Scalvini and Rafael Toloi are all injured.

Federico Chiesa starts in the trident after his two goals against North Macedonia, but the other two strikers are up in the air.

Gianluca Scamacca is tipped to be the centre-forward, through Raspadori could still feature on the left flank.

The alternative to the Napoli man in that role would be Stephan El Shaarawy, who scored off the bench on Friday.

Italy (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Gatti, Acerbi, Dimarco; Frattesi, Jorginho, Barella; Chiesa, Scamacca, El Shaarawy