Italy are tipped to use Nicolò Barella in a more advanced role to support Mateo Retegui, while Nicolò Rovella could make his debut against Romelu Lukaku's Belgium.

The Nations League match gets underway at 19:45 GMT on Thursday at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

The Azzurri just need to get one point from the remaining two games to secure their spot in the quarter-finals.

Lorenzo Pellegrini was sent off in the 2-2 draw between these sides at the Stadio Olimpico last month. This led to Belgium getting a point when they were 2-0 down.

So, the Roma captain is suspended and Luciano Spalletti hinted in today's press conference that Inter star Barella would be used in that hybrid role connecting midfield with attack.

It looks like Lazio midfielder Rovella will be straight into the starting XI for his senior Italy debut, with Sandro Tonali and Davide Frattesi on either side of him, and Alessandro Buongiorno filling in for the injured Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori.

Belgium will be without Kevin De Bruyne, Charles De Ketelaere, Jeremy Doku, Malick Fofana and Joaquin Seys for this game.

On the bright side, they'll have Napoli striker Lukaku back for the first time since Euro 2024. He's been taking some time out to get back to full fitness at the club level.

Maxim De Cuyper scored a fantastic goal in the first meeting and could be used as a left-back or in a more advanced role.

The other option for the three players supporting Lukaku would be Sevilla's Dodi Lukebakio, which would mean Timothy Castagne would be on the bench.

Probable line-ups: Belgium vs. Italy

Belgium (4-2-3-1): Casteels; Debast, Faes, Theate, Castagne; Mangala, Onana; Bakayoko, Trossard, De Cuyper; Lukaku

Italy (3-5-1-1): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Buongiorno, Bastoni; Cambiaso, Frattesi, Rovella, Tonali, Dimarco; Barella; Retegui