Roberto Mancini attends Champions League matches to scout Italy national team hopefuls

Italy national team coach Roberto Mancini plans to attend two Champions League matches this week to observe potential Azzurri squad members. Mancini is scheduled to be at the Bernabeu on Tuesday to watch Inter face Real Madrid in the opening round of the competition. He will focus on three players in the Inter squad: Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella, and Pio Esposito. While Bastoni and Barella are expected to start, Esposito is likely to begin on the bench. Federico Dimarco will miss the trip due to a knee issue. On Wednesday, the coach will travel to Portugal to watch the match between Sporting CP and Galatasaray. That appearance is intended to evaluate the performance of 22-year-old midfielder Issa Doumbia, who joined Sporting CP from Venezia for €20 million earlier this summer.

• 8:45 AMYahoo Sports — Mancini to watch four potential Italy internationals in two Champions League matches