Italy chase vital win

Italy will be looking to justify their billing as pre-tournament favourites tonight when they face England in their second game in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, having been held 1-1 by Portugal on Friday.

'Not a pressure situation'
Coach Claudio Gentile denies that their opening-match result puts extra pressure on them as they return to Basel's Saint Jakob stadium to take on an England team who are in confident mood having put three points on the board against Switzerland. "It is not a pressure situation because we go out wanting to win every game," insists Gentile. "We just have to keep our concentration and hope to do well." Italy look likely to make just one change with Cesare Natali coming in for Paolo Cannavaro, a switch that Gentile made during the second half of the first game.

Platt may rest forwards
England might give a breather to two of their forward talents, Jermain Defoe and Jermaine Pennant, with coach David Platt reluctant to burden the youngsters too much at this stage of the tournament. Defoe's absence would enable Alan Smith to return to his more accustomed role as a central striker from where the Leeds United AFC player posed Italy significant problems in the friendly fixture at Bradford City FC's Valley Parade ground in March which ended 1-1.

England aware of danger
Victory will take England into the semi-finals and Platt said:"We don't need any more motivation than that. We will be trying to win the match but we also know we have the safety net of the game on Wednesday [against Portugal]. We learned from the first game that Italy like to counterattack and we have to be aware of that and be ready for that."

Praise for Pirlo
Platt's insistence that England be "clever and crafty” also extends to taking care of Italian danger man Andrea Pirlo. "He is an excellent passer and can drop the ball on a sixpence" said the coach. However, Pirlo will not be man-marked. "I think we can cope with him within the framework of the team," Platt confirmed.