Ireland coach Declan Kidney has been forced to rotate his options for his side's opening Championship clash © Getty Images

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News: Ross: Irish scrum's Mr Fix-It

News: Kidney backing strength in depth

News: McFadden to make Ireland debut

Head to Head: Ireland eye repeat win in Rome

Matches: Italy 11 - 13 Ireland

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: Ireland | Italy

Grounds: Stadio Flaminio

Italy will begin their latest quest to upset the Six Nations formbook on Saturday when Ireland visit the Stadio Flaminio in Rome.

The plucky Azzurri are riding a hat-trick of Wooden Spoons, having propped up the Six Nations table for the last three years, and can boast just one Championship win in the last two Six Nations - a 16-12 victory over Scotland in Rome last year.

Ireland followed up their Grand Slam success of 2009 with a runner-up finish last year but victories over Samoa and Argentina were as good as it got at the end of the year as they came up short against the Tri-Nations giants once again - both home and away.

Irish hopes will have been buoyed by the domestic form of Leinster and Ulster in the Heineken Cup and Munster in the Magners League but injuries have ravaged the squad with their backline bearing the brunt. However, their enviable strength in depth means they are primed for another strong challenge and will travel confident of extending their 14-game winning run against the Italians. Italy enter their campaign on the back of a victory over Fiji at the end of last year and while the recent inclusion of Aironi and Treviso in the Magners League will provide a boost of sorts, the odds remain stacked against them.

Italy - Player to Watch: Aussie-born fly-half Kris Burton has been handed the playmaking duties in the absence of the injured Craig Gower and as a result must shoulder the responsibility for getting a limited back division into top gear.

Italy - Team News: Burton partners the improving Edoardo Gori while influential captain Sergio Parisse has recovered from a dislocated finger to take his place at the back of the scrum. Elsewhere, Alessandro Zanni replaces Mauro Bergamasco at openside with the veteran sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Ireland - Player to Watch: Arguably the form player in Europe right now, Leinster No.8 Sean O'Brien has lit up the Magners League and Heineken Cup this season to the extent that the previously immovable Jamie Heaslip is no longer a cert to reclaim his international place.

Ireland - Team News: Fergus McFadden will make his Ireland debut on the wing with his Leinster team-mate, Luke Fitzgerald, deputising for the injured Rob Kearney at fullback. Munster's Keith Earls completes a new-look back three while his provincial colleague Tomas O'Leary has got the nod to partner Jonathan Sexton at half-back. Leinster prop Mike Ross will line-up at tight-head with Ulster's Rory Best returning at hooker. Former British & Irish Lions captain Paul O'Connell makes his first Test appearance since last year's Six Nations having recovered from a groin problem. O'Brien and blindside Denis Leamy profit from injuries to Heaslip and Stephen Ferris.

Key Battle: Italy will once again be heavily reliant on their forwards to lay the foundation for what is sure to be a rear-guard effort. The front-row trio of Salvatore Perugini, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Martin Castrogiovanni are set to spearhead their ever-impressive scrum. They will go nose-to-nose with Cian Healy, Best and Ross who will front up for an Irish pack that creaked in the autumn.

Trivia: Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll needs just two tries to eclipse the mark of Scotland's Ian Smith at the top of the all-time standings.

Stats: Ireland have scored a total of 13 tries on their last two visits to Rome's Stadio Flaminio - eight in their 51-24 victory in 2007 and five on their way to a 38-9 win in 2009.

Quote Unquote:

"I love this job and I'd like to stay on after the World Cup, though that is up to the Italian Rugby Federation" - Italy boss Nick Mallet hints that he would like to stay in the post beyond this year's World Cup.

"When you've been in the game for a few years you know that you need to build a squad...You never like to see fellas injured but other players have picked up experience and hopefully we're starting to benefit." - Ireland coach Declan Kidney talks up his side's strength in depth.

The Odds: Italy are a paltry 11-2 with bet365 to upset the Irish so how about the first scoring play to be an Italy drop goal at 16-1?

Fantasy If Ireland get among the tries once again in Rome you can bet that fly-half Jonathan Sexton will be involved - maybe he should be in your ESPNscrum International Fantasy Rugby 2011 line-up?

Prediction: Another gutsy display from Italy will only get them so far and an Ireland side shorn of a wealth of top class talent should still cruise home.