eir recent good form with a

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Scotland will look to keep up their recent good form with a double-header against two of the favourites for Euro 2016, starting with Italy on Sunday. Despite a disappointing qualifying campaign which saw them finish fourth in their group, Gordon Strachans side are seen as good warm-up opposition for some of the sides who will be in France.That sees them face incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Contes side in Malta before a meeting with the European Championship hosts in Metz next Saturday. The games in the next few days will be the Scots first against the Italians and French since both only just prevented them from reaching the 2008 tournament.As Strachan and his players seek some kind of retribution, they will do so coming off the back of three consecutive wins over Gibraltar and, more recently, the Czech Republic and Denmark.Scotlands assistant manager, Motherwell boss Mark McGhee, said: I hope the motivation is that they want to play against these good teams again regularly. Mark McGhee wants Scotlands players to be motivated by facing big-name sides ahead of the World Cup qualifiers I think it will be when they sit down to watch the Euros themselves and that will make them even more determined to be part of it next time.We have no control over what the Italians will do or what side they will pick - but they could pick any 11 from the squad they have and I think it will be a fairly robust challenge for us.Team newsWith the season ending and no competitive games internationally until the World Cup qualifiers begin in September, it is perhaps not surprising the Scots have been hit with withdrawals.Rangers defender Lee Wallace is among the latest to pull out along with Derbys Chris Martin and Aston Villa right-back Alan Hutton. Lee Wallace is out of the squad but his Rangers team-mate Barrie McKay (above) remains involved Wallaces Ibrox team-mate Barrie McKay remains in the group, however, and is expected to make his first senior appearance for his country over the coming days.Goalkeepers Allan McGregor and Scott Bain are both missing with back injuries so Scott Fox and Jack Hamilton have been selected as replacements.Swanseas Stephen Kingsley and Derby midfielder Craig Bryson are also in but Andy Robertson, Robert Snodgrass, Shaun Maloney and Barry Bannan all miss out.Each of them will be at Wembley for the Championship play-off final between Hull and Sheffield Wednesday but they will join Scotland at their Maltese training camp ahead of the France match. Swanseas Stephen Kingsley has been called into the group after a number of withdrawals Opta statsScotland have only beaten Italy once in their history, winning 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in November 1965 (D2 L7).The last meeting between the teams came in November 2007, when Italy ended Scotlands Euro 2008 qualifying hopes in a 2-1 victory through a 90th-minute winner from Christian Panucci.Gordon Strachan has lost just one of his last nine friendlies as Scotland manager (W6 D2). Antonio Conte will take charge of Chelsea after he takes Italy to Euro 2016 in France The only Scottish player to score in an away from home against Italy is Kevin Gallacher, back in October 1993.The Tartan Army are looking to keep three successive clean sheets away from home for the first time since September 2007.Italy havent won any of their last four internationals since qualifying for Euro 2016 (D2 L2).Italys last eight international goals have all been scored by different players, with only one of those goals coming in the first half.Graziano Pelle has scored more goals than any other Italian player during Antonio Contes reign (four). Graziano Pelle has scored more goals for Italy than any other player during Contes reign as manager BettingScotland go up against odds of 17/4 to secure the victory on Sunday evening as Sky Bet rate Italy 4/6 favourites, while the draw priced at 13/5.The Italians are, however, up against odds of 16/1 to win Euro 2016 while Scotland are given a 4/1 chance of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup after failing to book their place in this summers finals.Southamptons Pelle is rated Italys main threat at 9/2 to net first, while Steven Fletcher heads the betting from Scotlands side of the first goalscorer betting at 8/1.Follow Italy v Scotland with our live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps. Puma Shoes Australia Sale . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers. Cheap Puma Shoes Womens .Y. -- Defenceman Ryan Murphy had a goal and an assist and Drew MacIntyre made 24 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 4-2 in an exhibition game Wednesday night. http://www.cheappumaaustralia.com/. Canada Day is here and with it comes Free Agent Frenzy as the NHLs 30 teams storm out of the gate for signing season. Wholesale Puma Shoes . Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks. Cheap Puma Shoes Online Australia .C. -- Unable to get much lift off his sore right ankle, Bobcats centre Al Jefferson figured it was time to make an adjustment.MADRID, Spain -- Barcelona defender Dani Alves has received an outpouring of support for his response to a racist taunt during a game, while Villarreal issued a lifetime ban to the season-ticket holder who threw a banana at him. Alves, who is black, was about to take a corner in Sundays 3-2 win at Villarreals El Madrigal Stadium when a banana landed on the pitch in front of him. The Brazil international picked it up, peeled it and ate some of it before throwing the rest aside. "Villarreal deeply regrets and condemns the incident that happened," Villarreal said in a statement on Monday. "The club has already identified the (culprit) and has decided to withdraw his season tickets, permanently." After the match, Alves said humour was the best way to combat racism in sport. That sentiment has led fellow football players, officials and even political figures from around the globe to respond with solidarity by picturing themselves eating a banana. Barcelona teammate Neymar posted a photo of himself on Instagram holding a peeled banana alongside his son, who was holding a doll that resembled a banana. Fellow Brazil teammates Hulk and Fred also lent support via their social media accounts. Argentina striker Sergio Aguero and Brazil womens striker Marta both posed for photos while biting into bananas, while former Brazil international Roberto Carlos also posted an internet photo of himself with the fruit. "We have suffered this in Spain for some time," Alves said Sunday. "You have to take it with a dose of humour. We arent going to change things easily. If you dont give it importance, they dont achieve their objective." Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who has been actively condemning racist acts in Brazilian football, also expressed her support to Alves, while Italiaan Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Italy national team coach Cesare Prandelli also shared a banana in a photograph.dddddddddddd "The player had a daring and strong response to racism in sport," Rousseff wrote on her official Twitter account. "Confronted by something that unfortunately has become too common in stadiums, Alves had attitude." Rousseff praised Neymar for getting behind his teammate and reiterated that Brazil will "raise the flag against racial discrimination" during the World Cup. FIFA President Sepp Blatter also commented on Twitter, saying that "what (Alves) tolerated last night is an outrage." He added that there "will be zero tolerance" at the World Cup. The match referee on Sunday included the 75th-minute incident in his match report, so Villarreal could face a fine. "Our club would like to express its firm commitment to promoting respect, equality, sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the field and our absolute rejection of any act that is contrary to these principles, such as violence, discrimination, racism and xenophobia," Villarreal added in its statement. Alves has often been subjected to racist taunts and called fighting racism "a lost war" in January 2013 after segments of Real Madrids fans abused him with monkey chants during a match. Madrid defender Marcelo, who is also Brazilian, was also recently greeted with monkey chants by a section of Atletico Madrid fans this season. Former Barcelona striker Samuel Etoo was convinced not to walk off at Zaragoza in 2006 after fans berated the Cameroon striker with racist chants. Two years earlier, Spain fans at Madrids Santiago Bernabeu Stadium infamously greeted Englands black players with monkey chants during an international friendly match. ' ' '