Roberto Martinez still did not want to give a definitive answer about the preparedness of Kevin De Bruyne (ankle) and Eden Hazard (hamstring). However, we put De Bruyne in the probable starting eleven, Hazard not.
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“No, it is not a game not to make the Italians any wiser,” said the national coach last night. “It’s just that we don’t know. We work hard every day to get them ready to play. I say it from the very first moment: it is a race against time that we hope to win. But it won’t be easy. A muscle injury at Eden and the ligaments hit at De Bruyne. It will be a last minute decision. It’s a medical decision, not a sporting one. It will be harder for Eden to make it to Italy than for Kevin.”
We therefore think: De Bruyne plays because the nature and location of the injury allows it. It will be more difficult for Eden Hazard because it is a muscle injury and he also struggled from one muscle injury after another at Real Madrid last season.
Our presumed eleven:
Target: Courteous
Defense: Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen
Midfield: Meunier, Witsel, Tielemans, T. Hazard
Attack: De Bruyne, Lukaku, Carrasco
