Vincenzo Iaquinta and Giampaolo Pazzini lead the Italy attack against Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland.
As expected, Pazzini got the nod for his first senior Italy start after scoring on his debut last week against Montenegro.
He is joined by Juventus striker Iaquinta and Udinese stalwart Simone Pepe, once again leaving Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi on the bench.
One of the changes was forced, as Antonio Di Natale is out for the rest of the season after damaging knee ligaments in the opening minutes of the Montenegro match on Saturday.
Matteo Brighi takes over in midfield from Sampdoria’s Angelo Palombo, joining Andrea Pirlo and his Roma teammate Daniele De Rossi.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s choices were limited by the news Aiden McGeady did not recover in time from a knee injury sustained against Bulgaria last week, joining Damien Duff on the sidelines.
This let 22-year-old Wolves winger Andy Keogh into the first team, chosen ahead of Shane Long.
The Stadio San Nicola in Bari is sold out for tonight’s World Cup qualifier, which sees Trapattoni return to face his homeland for the first time.
Italy: Buffon; Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso; Brighi, Pirlo, De Rossi; Pepe, Pazzini, Iaquinta
Republic of Ireland: Given; McShane, Dunne, O'Shea, Kilbane; Keogh, Whelan, Andrews, Hunt; Doyle, Keane
Ref: Stark (Aus)
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