France and Italy reveal probable line-ups for Nations League clash

France host Italy at the Stade de France on Friday in the third round of the Nations League, with both sides seeking to build on positive starts to the competition.

The Bleus are unbeaten after their opening two matches, while Italy will aim to maintain their momentum after a convincing 4-1 victory in Turkey.

France

France manager Zinedine Zidane will be without several established players for the meeting, including Kylian Mbappe, who has a left knee injury.

William Saliba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Warren Zaire-Emery and Ibrahima Konate are also unavailable. However, recent performances have given Zidane further options, with Desire Doue, Lucas Da Cunha and Jeremy Jacquet among those to have impressed.

France’s expected line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Mike Maignan

Defenders: Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert

Midfielders: Rayan Cherki, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot

Forwards: Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue

Italy

Italy also go into the match with a number of absentees. Federico Dimarco, Andrea Cambiaso, Alessandro Buongiorno, Bryan Cristante, Manuel Locatelli and Nicolo Zaniolo are all missing, while Giacomo Raspadori has been ruled out.

Roberto Mancini could nevertheless be boosted by the possible returns of Nicolo Barella, Gianluca Mancini and Samuele Ricci.

Italy’s expected line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma

Defenders: Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Giorgio Scalvini, Alessandro Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori

Midfielders: Davide Frattesi, Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Barella

Forwards: Moise Kean, Pio Esposito, Sebastiano Esposito

The match is France’s third fixture in the Nations League group stage and will take place at the Stade de France on Friday.