Italy begin their Euro 2016 qualification Group H campaign with a clash against Norway in Oslo on Tuesday.

It will be the 14th time that the two teams have met at international level, with Italy winning six and drawing four of the previous encounters.

Their most recent meeting occurred in qualification for the 2006 World Cup, when Marcello Lippi's Italy beat Norway 2-1 in Palermo.

The pair also met during qualification for the 1992 European Championships, with Norway recording a 2-1 win courtesy of goals from Tore Andre Dahlum and Lars Bohinen.

Norway enter this particular match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to England on Wednesday, with that result meaning that they have not won any of their last six international matches.

Indeed, the last time that Norway recorded a win of any sort was back in January – a 2-1 success over Moldova.

Italy, meanwhile, recorded a 2-0 win over Netherlands in an international friendly on Tuesday.

However, it proved to be a disappointing summer for the former world champions, who failed to make it out of a World Cup group that contained England, Costa Rica and Uruguay, with the latter two advancing.

Former Manchester United youngster Joshua King is expected to keep his spot in the Norway XI following a positive showing against England last time out, while the experienced Morten Gamst Pedersen should also return to the team in a wide area.

Simone Zaza, meanwhile, is pushing for his first competitive start for Italy after featuring against the Netherlands. The 23-year-old could be joined in attack by Mattia Destro and Ciro Immobile.

Antonio Conte's XI is also expected to include plenty of experience in the shape of Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Daniele de Rossi.

Recent form

Norway: DLDDL

Italy: DWLLW

Possible starting lineups

Norway: Jarstein; Hogli, Nordtveit, Foren, Hagen; Pedersen, Jenssen, Skjelbred, Tettey; Elyounoussi, King

Italy: Buffon; Maggio, Chiellini, Bonucci, De Sciglio; De Rossi, Verratti, Marchisio; Destro, Immobile, Zaza

Sports Mole says: 0-1

Written by
Matt Law

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