Turkey vs Italy – Match preview and team news

Turkey and Italy will face each other in their next UEFA Nations League encounter on Monday at the Matli Stadyumu Atatürk Spor Kompleksi as both teams will look to come back to winning ways after their opening loss.

Turkey vs Italy – Match preview and team news

Venue: Matli Stadyumu Atatürk Spor Kompleksi, Bursa.

Altay Bayındır is set to start for Türkiye as regular first-choice keeper Uğurcan Çakır serves a suspension following his red card against France .

Head coach Vincenzo Montella faces a significant selection headache with several key players ruled out through injury. The loss of Italy-based stars Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Kenan Yıldız severely impacts the team's creative options, while midfielder Orkun Kökçü is also highly doubtful due to a lingering toe injury.

In response to these absences, Montella is expected to shift Real Madrid prodigy Arda Güler into a central playmaker role to dictate the tempo of the attack.

Defensively, the experienced Merih Demiral will captain the side alongside Abdülkerim Bardakcı. The Crescent-Stars will rely heavily on the pace of Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Kerem Aktürkoğlu to stretch the Italian defence in this crucial UEFA Nations League fixture.

Italy manager Roberto Mancini has chosen a heavily rotated squad for this fixture, leaving ten players behind at the Coverciano training base to undergo specialised physical training.

Notable omissions from the travelling party include midfield engine Nicolò Barella and defender Gianluca Mancini .

The Azzurri are also hampered by injuries to key personnel, with Federico Dimarco , Bryan Cristante , and Manuel Locatelli all ruled out.

On a positive note, defensive rock Alessandro Bastoni returns to the starting lineup after serving a suspension. In attack, competition is fierce as Moise Kean and Gianluca Scamacca battle to lead the front line, supported by Daniel Maldini .

Mancini is also giving opportunities to rising talent, with Michael Kayode and midfielder Issa Doumbia pushing for significant minutes as Italy looks to test its squad depth while maintaining tactical flexibility.

Türkiye enters this clash in mixed form, adjusting to life in Europe's top tier after consecutive Nations League promotions. Their most recent outing ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat against France, where goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır received a costly red card. Previously, their 2026 World Cup campaign yielded volatile results, including a 3-2 victory over the United States but also frustrating group-stage losses to Paraguay (0-1) and Australia (0-2).

Italy is struggling for consistency under returning manager Roberto Mancini. The Azzurri kicked off their Nations League campaign with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Belgium in Rome. Prior to that, Italy enjoyed back-to-back 1-0 friendly wins over Greece and Luxembourg in June. However, their competitive form remains fragile, highlighted by a painful penalty shootout exit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup qualification finals back in March.

Turkey: Bayindir; Celik, Demiral, Bardakci ; Aydin, Ozcan, Yuksek, Kadioglu ; Guler, Akturkoglu; Yilmaz

Italy: Donnarumma ; Kayode, Scalvini , Bastoni, Calafiori ; Frattesi, Tonali , Mandragora; Cambiaghi, P. Esposito, Raspadori

You can watch the Turkey vs. Italy match live in the UK tonight on Amazon Prime Video UK via its Pay-Per-View (PPV) service.

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