Balotelli set to return for Italy, Buffon in doubt

Forward Mario Balotelli looks set to return to Italy's starting line-up for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Denmark at the San Siro in Milan, but goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon is a doubt with a thigh-muscle strain. Balotelli missed Friday's 3-1 win over Armenia because of flu. He was also absent when the Azzurri started their campaign to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a 2-0 win over Malta and a 2-2 draw in Bulgaria last month after having surgery on a minor eye problem. Manchester City's Balotelli, who has a poor disciplinary record and has been at the centre of a series of bizarre off-field incidents, was in the headlines at the weekend when a senior executive at the club suggested he was not a good role model. "I think, and we all know who we are talking about, that you will get people within the system who do not show the right values and the right behaviour," said Brian Marwood, the club's head of football operations. The comments were interpreted by some pundits as being a signal that the English champions could try to offload the 22-year-old in the January transfer window. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, meanwhile, has said expectations of his side are too high after press criticism of his men's performance in Friday's victory over the Armenians. "I like the way Italy played," said the coach, who led Italy to the final of Euro 2012 in the summer. "After the game I thought we'd given a good display but then I read the newspapers and another match altogether was presented. "This will serve as a stimulant to us. We played well. We prepared the match well. We ran risks in their counter-attacks but it's better that way than being passive (and waiting for the opposition to come at you). "We have to find even more quality (in our play) because we are not a counter-attacking team. "After the European championships everyone expects Italy to win 3-0 all the time. But that's not possible. "Apart from Spain, there aren't any teams who can kill the match before it has even started".