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Played
September 7, 2012 7:45 PM BST
Stadion Vasil Levski — Sofia
Referee: M. Atkinson
Attendance: 25000
September 7, 2012 7:45 PM BST
Stadion Vasil Levski — Sofia
Referee: M. Atkinson
Attendance: 25000
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| Bulgaria | 5.50 | 8.00 | 5.50 | 10.00 | 5.50 | 18.00 | 4.62 | 5.35 |
| Draw | 3.50 | 1.25 | 3.50 | 1.17 | 3.40 | 1.03 | 3.45 | 3.41 |
| Italy | 1.67 | 7.00 | 1.67 | 9.00 | 1.65 | 12.00 | 1.83 | 1.70 |
Bulgaria - Italy Preview: Azzurri look to build on Euro 2012 progress
Surprise runners-up in Poland and Ukraine, Cesare Prandelli's men will be hoping to maintain their momentum when they take their first step on the road to Brazil in Sofia
By Mark Doyle
Getty Images
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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BULGARIA
 Mihaylov Manolev, Bodurov, Ivanov, V. Minev Tonev, Milanov, Gadzhev, Sarmov Gargorov Popov |
ITALY
 Buffon Bonucci, Barzagli, Ogbonna Pirlo Maggio, De Rossi, Marchisio, Giaccherini Giovinco, Osvaldo |
Daniele De Rossi will be fit for Italy’s opening World Cup 2014 qualifier against Bulgaria on Friday evening.
The Roma ace has recovered from the ankle injury which forced him off just 31 minutes into his club’s 3-1 victory over Inter at San Siro on Sunday and is expected to take his place in a three-man midfield alongside Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio.
Mario Balotelli, of course, has been ruled out after undergoing eye surgery, but Giampaolo Pazzini and Angelo Ogbonna are available for selection after overcoming their respective knee problems.
The former, though, is expected to start on the bench, with Azzurri boss Cesare Prandelli set to start with Sebastian Giovinco up front alongside Pablo Osvaldo, who did not even make the preliminary squad for Euro 2012.
However, Torino defender Ogbonna is likely to start alongside Juventus duo Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci in defence, with Cristian Maggio and Emanuele Giaccherini occupying the wing-back berths as Italy revert to 3-5-2.
As for Bulgaria, Dimitar Berbatov has decided against coming out of international retirement for his country’s qualifying campaign, meaning national team boss Lubo Penev must decide between Ivelin Popov and Iliyan Mitsanski, who netted the only goal of the game in last month’s friendly win over Cyprus, for the lone striking role.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Italy remain sixth in the latest Fifa rankings, but Bulgaria have climbed to 89th.
- Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo, who has made two previous appearances for the Azzurri, was born in Buenos Aires.
- Cesare Prandelli's men used 3-5-2 in their opening two games at Euro 2012, against Spain and Croatia, but they switched to 4-3-1-2 for the remainder of the tournament.
- Italy wing-back Emanuele Giaccherini has yet to feature for Juventus in Serie A this season.
- The Azzurri did not lose a single game during their Euro 2012 qualification campaign, sealing qualification with two rounds to spare.
- The recalled Giampaolo Pazzini, who hit a hat-trick for AC Milan against Bologna last weekend, scored the goal which secured Italy their place in Poland and Ukraine, the former Inter man netting the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Slovenia.
- Bulgaria have not qualified for a major international tournament since Euro 2004 in Portugal, where they bowed out in the group stages, losing 2-1 to Italy in their final game.
- The two nations also met during their 2010 World Cup qualifiers, with Bulgaria managing to hold the Azzurri to a scoreless draw in Sofia only to then suffer a 2-0 defeat in Turin.
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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Bulgaria 0-2 Italy
- 29.49 %
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Bulgaria 0-3 Italy
- 19.94 %
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Bulgaria 1-2 Italy
- 7.77 %
| World Cup Qualifying - UEFA (WCQ) | Sep 7, 2012 | Bulgaria 2 - Italy 2 |
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| World Cup Qualifying - UEFA (WCQ) | Sep 9, 2009 | Italy 2 - Bulgaria 0 |
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| World Cup Qualifying - UEFA (WCQ) | Oct 11, 2008 | Bulgaria 0 - Italy 0 |
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Bulgaria
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| Mar 26, 2013 | Denmark 1 - Bulgaria 1 | WCQ |
| Mar 22, 2013 | Bulgaria 6 - Malta 0 | WCQ |
| Nov 14, 2012 | Bulgaria 0 - Ukraine 1 | FR |
| Oct 16, 2012 | Czech Rep. 0 - Bulgaria 0 | WCQ |
| Oct 12, 2012 | Bulgaria 1 - Denmark 1 | WCQ |
Italy
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| Mar 26, 2013 | Malta 0 - Italy 2 | WCQ |
| Mar 21, 2013 | Italy 2 - Brazil 2 | FR |
| Feb 6, 2013 | Netherlands 1 - Italy 1 | FR |
| Nov 14, 2012 | Italy 1 - France 2 | FR |
| Oct 16, 2012 | Italy 3 - Denmark 1 | WCQ |
| Returns: | Bulgaria £100.00 |
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| Returns: | Draw £35.00 |
|
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets | |
| Returns: | Italy £90.00 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
| - | Nikolay Mihaylov | Goalkeeper |
| - | Ivan Ivanov | Defender |
| - | Nikolay Bodurov | Defender |
| - | Stanislav Manolev | Defender |
| - | Veselin Minev | Defender |
| - | Jordan Minev | Defender |
| - | Georgi Milanov | Midfielder |
| - | Ivelin Popov | Striker |
| - | Svetoslav Dyakov | Midfielder |
| - | Vladimir Gadzhev | |
| - | Emil Gargorov | Midfielder |
| - | Stojan Kolev | Goalkeeper |
| - | Vladislav Stoyanov | Goalkeeper |
| - | A.D. Aleksandrov | Defender |
| - | Petr Zanev | Defender |
| - | Ilia Milanov | Defender |
| - | Alexandar Tonev | Midfielder |
| - | Boris Galchev | |
| - | Georgi Sarmov | Midfielder |
| 18 | Dimitar Rangelov | Striker |
| - | Ivan Stoyanov | Striker |
| - | Tsvetan Genkov | |
| - | Iliyan Mitsanski | Striker |
| 1 | Gianluigi Buffon | Goalkeeper |
| 15 | Andrea Barzagli | Defender |
| - | Angelo Obinze Ogbonna | |
| 19 | Leonardo Bonucci | Defender |
| 21 | Andrea Pirlo | Midfielder |
| 2 | Christian Maggio | Midfielder |
| 8 | Claudio Marchisio | Midfielder |
| 16 | Daniele De Rossi | Midfielder |
| 13 | Emanuele Giaccherini | Midfielder |
| 9 | Pablo Daniel Osvaldo | Striker |
| 10 | Sebastian Giovinco | Striker |
| 12 | Morgan De Sanctis | Goalkeeper |
| 14 | Salvatore Sirigu | Goalkeeper |
| - | Mattia Cassani | |
| - | Francesco Acerbi | |
| - | Federico Peluso | |
| - | Antonio Nocerino | |
| - | Andrea Poli | Midfielder |
| - | Marco Verratti | Midfielder |
| 22 | Alessandro Diamanti | Midfielder |
| - | Fabio Borini | |
| - | Lorenzo Insigne | Striker |
| - | Mattia Destro | Striker |
| Ivelin Popov | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 0 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
With Dimitar Berbatov having declined an invite to return to the international fold, the search for a successor is now well and truly on. Ivelin Popov looks the man most capable of filling the void but he must improve upon a goalscoring record that has seen him net just six times in 31 appearances. Sofia on Friday night would be a fine place to start.
| Pablo Daniel Osvaldo | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 9 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Pablo Osvaldo is a great talent but doubts remain over his temperament. Indeed, only last weekend he spoiled a terrific performance against Inter by stupidly getting himself sent off for a second bookable offence. Prandelli has taken something of a gamble in recalling the Buenos Aires-born striker and it will be fascinating to see if it pays off.
Bulgaria are by no means the force they once were but they will be a tough nut to crack in Sofia. However, with Sebastian Giovinco and Pablo Osvaldo both in good form, the Azzurri should have the necessary firepower - and indeed the confidence - to eek out a victory.
Results
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Edin Dzeko Striker Manchester City |
7 | 0 |
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Tomer Hemed Striker Mallorca |
6 | 0 |
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Mesut Özil Midfielder Real Madrid |
5 | 2 |
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Wayne Rooney Striker Man Utd. |
5 | 1 |
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Robin van Persie Striker Man Utd. |
5 | 1 |
