Preview: England vs. Italy

England begin their Under-21 European Championship Group A campaign when they clash with Italy at the Itztadion Bloomfield Stadium on Wednesday.

The meeting in Israel will be the 12th competitive tie between the two countries at this level, with each securing four victories and the remaining three ending in draws. The last time the pair met was in the 2007 finals, where Italy rallied from 2-0 down to secure a share of the spoils.

England ensured their spot in the finals after finishing fifth in Group 8, before overcoming Serbia 1-0 in each leg of the playoffs. Italy, meanwhile, also topped their Group before running out 4-2 aggregate winners over Sweden.

This is also the fourth time that England have qualified for the finals of this particular competition, while they have been champions on two previous occasions - in 1982 and 1984. However, they failed to progress past the group stages in 2011.

Italy, meanwhile, have won the tournament on three separate occasions, but they did not qualify in 2011 and will therefore be keen to make an impression this time around.

Soon-to-be Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland is expected to start between the posts for Stuart Pearce's side, while Steven Caulker should also feature in the middle of the defence alongside Tom Lees.

Wilfried Zaha missed training on Monday with an ankle injury, but is expected to form part of a three-man attack alongside Nathan Remond and Connor Wickham.

Italy, meanwhile, are expected to name an experienced team with Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne both starting in midfield.

There is also expected to be a place for Liverpool striker Fabio Borini, who should start in attack alongside the highly-rated Mattia Destro.

Recent form:

England: WWWWW

Italy: DWLWW

Possible lineups:

England: Butland; Rose, Caulker, Lees, Clyne; Henderson, Shelvey, Ince; Zaha, Wickham, Redmond

Italy: Bardi; Bianchetti, Biraghi, Capuano, Regini; Insigne, Marrone, Verratti, Florenzi; Borini, Destro

Sports Mole says: 1-1