Edin Dzeko is still a real threat for Bosnia at the age of 40, and netted the equaliser for his national team against Wales last week as Bosnia went on to qualify for this final round on penalties.

Dzeko netted six goals across his seven matches during qualifying for Bosnia, and has an insane record for his national side with 72 goals across 145 caps (0.49 goals per game). He took 26 shots across his seven qualifying matches (3.93 per 90), seeing nine of those efforts find the target (1.36 per 90) - so Dzeko is clearly Bosnia’s biggest goal threat.

Furthermore, Dzeko has netted six goals across his six starts for Schalke in Bundesliga 2 this season, managing eight shots on target across those starts (1.35 per 90). Bosnia averaged 4.70 shots on target per game during qualifying, and the desperation to reach the World Cup should see them service their experienced forward here. 

Dimarco had a shot on target when Italy triumphed over Northern Ireland last week to book their spot in the final round of qualifying. This particular campaign means a lot to Italy, who have failed to qualify for each of the last two World Cups - putting real pressure on Gennaro Gattuso and his men in a game that Italy are expected to win.

Dimarco will line up as a left wing back for Italy here, the same role he plays for Inter Milan, and loves to get forward. I actually think he’s quite vulnerable defensively, which is probably why he’s always platformed as a wing back, but his willingness to get forward can play to our advantage here.

Dimarco took 16 shots across his seven starts in qualifying for Italy (2.52 per 90), seeing six of those efforts find the target (0.94 per 90). This is a really consistent record for a wing back and shows that Dimarco is given instructions to join the attack as often as he can. As well as this, Dimarco is maintaining an average of 0.73 shots on target per 90 in Serie A this term - resulting in six goals for the wing back.

Calafiori is a wonderful player to watch when he is given licence to get forward, which he is trusted to do by both Mikel Arteta and Gattuso. Calafiori had two shots against Northern Ireland last time out, advancing as Italy’s left centre back in their back three shape. 

This is slightly different to the role that Calafiori is asked to perform at Arsenal, where he plays as a left back, but the runs forward he makes are similar. Calafiori took eight shots across his four starts during Italy’s qualifying campaign (2.00 per 90), managing at least one shot in all four of those games.

If we look at his record for Arsenal, Calafiori has taken 28 shots across his 18 starts in the Premier League (1.73 per 90). There was a brief period in the season where Calafiori ranked as one of Arsenal’s biggest shot threats - highlighting how strong he is when stepping forward into more advanced areas to get shots away.

Italy had to be patient in their 2-0 win over Northern Ireland last week to set up this clash, and I think they will have to wait for the breakthrough here again. Italy racked up 12 corners in that win over Northern Ireland, showing how Italian pressure can lead to a high corner count, as they are not the most clinical side on the international stage.

Bosnia won’t have any issues with sitting deep and soaking up pressure in this clash, knowing that Italy won’t be able to put together wave after wave of attack as their forward options are quite weak. This should lead to Italy having the opportunity to rack up the corner count, as they did last week against Northern Ireland on their way to victory.

Desperation should also kick in at some stage and drive Italy forward if they are struggling to break the deadlock. Bosnia conceded nine corners against Wales last week, and should expect Italy to register at least five corners in this crucial clash.