Switzerland vs. Italy official lineups, starting 11, team news: Back three or back four for Azzurri boss Spalletti?

Dom Farrell

Switzerland vs. Italy official lineups, starting 11, team news: Back three or back four for Azzurri boss Spalletti? image

Reigning champions Italy are still grasping for their best form at Euro 2024 as they head into Saturday's last-16 clash with Switzerland in Berlin.

Luciano Spelletti's side came from behind to defeat energetic underdogs Albania 2-1 in their opening match before being comprehensively outplayed by Spain to an extent that was not reflected in the 1-0 scoreline.

There was a change in formation but the Azzurri were listless and needed Mattia Zaccagni's superb 98th-minute strike to snatch a 1-1 draw against Croatia and second place in Group B.

That has landed Italy on theoretically the easier side for the draw, with Spain, Germany, Portugal and France all in the other half.

Switzerland are also winless in two matches but also unbeaten in the tournament and turned in an impressive display to draw 1-1 with hosts Germany last time out. The winner of this game will face whoever prevails between Slovakia and an off-colour England in Gelsenkirchen.

MORE: Euro 2024 schedule and results, updated LIVE | Who will win Euro 2024? Latest odds and predictions

Switzerland vs. Italy official lineups, starting 11, team news

Breel Embolo starts again after an injury-ravaged spell and continues to lead the attack, where Ruben Vargas and Dan Ndoye join him.

Switzerland starting lineup (3-4-3): Sommer (GK) — Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez — Rieder, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer — Ndoye, Embolo, Vargas.

Injured: None
Suspended: Widmer

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti has reverted to a 4-3-3 after the patchy results of his back three experiment against Croatia. There will be a new face in defence, with Gianluca Mancini replacing the suspended Riccardo Calafiori. Left-back Federico Dimarco sat out training with a calf complaint on Friday and Matteo Darmian starts in his place. 

The Italy boss has made changes up top as Federico Chiesa stays in the starting lineup, while Gianluca Scamacca also has another go at centre-forward at Mateo Retegui's expense. Sky Italia reported on Friday that Stephan El Shaarawy was poised to complete a three-man forward line and he indeed starts.

Italy starting lineup (4-3-3): Donnarumma (GK) — Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Darmian — Barella, Fagioli, Cristante — Chiesa, Scamacca, El Shaarawy.

Injured: None
Suspended: Calafiori

Switzerland vs. Italy live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this Euro 2024 match across selected areas of the world's major regions:

 TV channelStreaming
USAFS1, Univision, TUDNFubo, Fox Sports app/website, ViX, Univision Now, TUDN app/website
CanadaTSN1, TSN4, TLN, CTV, TVA SportsTVA+, CTV app, VIVA
UKBBC OneBBC iPlayer/website
Australia —Optus Sport
IndiaSony Ten 2, 3, 2HD, 3HDJioTV, Sony LIV

USA: Switzerland vs. Italy from the Olympiastadion will be televised in the United States on FS1, with a Spanish-language broadcast via TUDN, and Univision. These channels are available to stream on Fubo with the latter offering a FREE seven-day trial. ViX is also an option.

Radio coverage of the match can be followed on SiriusXM FC.

UK: Saturday’s match will be shown in the UK on BBC One and the free-to-air broadcaster's iPlayer and BBC Sport website platforms.

Canada: TSN and CTV are the main English language broadcasters for Euro 2024 while TVA provides French language options.

Australia: Australia's sole broadcaster for the European Championship is Optus Sport. 

India: Euro 2024 matches are available to watch on on JioTV and Sony LIV. Switzerland vs. Italy can also be viewed on Sony Ten Network on TV.

If this match is not available to watch live in your location, or if you’re traveling abroad, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure and private online connection, allowing you to bypass geographical restrictions to access your favorite streaming services from any device anywhere in the world.

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Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.