Italy face Germany in tonight’s high-profile friendly with Mario Balotelli and Dani Osvaldo against Mario Götze and Thomas Muller.
Italy face Germany in tonight’s high-profile friendly with Mario Balotelli and Dani Osvaldo against Mario Götze and Thomas Muller.
It kicks off at San Siro at 19.45 GMT and is their first encounter since the Euro 2012 semi-final, which saw the Azzurri win 2-1 with a Balotelli brace.
Serie A top scorer Giuseppe Rossi is ruled out after suffering from flu symptoms over the last few days, while Daniele De Rossi is also rested due to a sprained toe.
Southampton striker Osvaldo therefore partners Balotelli with support from Thiago Motta and Andrea Pirlo in midfield.
Zenit defender Mimmo Criscito returns to international duty for the first time since October 2012.
Germany are without Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez and Per Mertesacker, though Mesut Özil is on the bench due to flu symptoms.
This will be the 100th match in charge for Coach Joachim Löw.
Italy have a strong record against the Germans, earning 15 wins, nine draws and only seven defeats. However, all those seven losses were in friendlies, the most recent a 2-0 result in 1995.
The Azzurri are also unbeaten at San Siro with 31 victories and eight stalemates.
Both teams have qualified for the World Cup, so are taking this opportunity to perform experiments for the tournament in Brazil.
Italy: Buffon; Abate, Bonucci, Barzagli, Criscito; Marchisio, Pirlo, Thiago Motta; Montolivo; Balotelli, Osvaldo
Italy bench: Marchetti, Sirigu, Maggio, Ogbonna, Pasqual, Ranocchia, Candreva, De Rossi, Diamanti, Florenzi, Giaccherini, Parolo, Poli, Cerci, Gilardino
Germany: Neuer; Lahm, J Boateng, Hummels, Höwedes; Khedira, Jansen; T Muller, Kroos, Schurrle; Götze
Germany bench: Adler, Weidenfeller, S Bender, Schmelzer, Ozil, Draxler, Kruse, L Bender, Reus, Westermann, Sam
Ref: Benquerença (POR)