As far as unflattering victories go, beating Malta 1-0, courtesy of a 69th-minute winner, would not exactly have made Italy's rivals tremble with fear. It was perhaps so unflattering that Heat magazine probably did a match report. But it was a win; another three points in the bank to move level with Croatia at the summit of Group H. And they're back tonight where they hope to beat Bulgaria and pick up another win to strengthen their automatic qualification hopes of reaching Euro 2016. Let's go.

Team news? Anyone? Why not.

ITALY XI: Buffon; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Darmian, Bonucci; Candreva, Verratti, De Rossi; Parolo, El Shaarawy, Pelle

BULGARIA XI: Mitrev; A Aleksandrov, Bodurov, J Minev, V Minev; Popov, Chochev, Milanov, Dyakov; Nedelev, Mitsanski

Right, so Gifi Buffon earns his 150th cap. What an achievement that is. Striker Graziano Pelle, who scored the winner against Malta, retains his selection up front as expected. Manchester United right-back Matteo Darmian starts, despite being one booking away from a one-game ban. The Minev twins, meanwhile, start in defence for Bulgaria, with both Yordan and Veselin also one booking away from missing the penultimate qualifier.

What was already quite a big game has gotten even bigger, my friends. Norway have just beaten Croatia - who led Group H prior to kickoff - to move top! As a result, our Italian friends have dropped to third, but victory tonight would see them replace the Norwegians at the summit - and by a two-point margin! With two qualifiers to go after this, that group is tighter than Arsene Wenger, on deadline day, in a hipster's jeans.

Ominously for Bulgaria, who really need to win to have any hope of finishing third, Italy have not lost a home qualifier in, hmm, 16 years! They're unbeaten in 37, with a 3-2 defeat against Denmark in September 1999 the last time they lost a home game. Not bad, is it? Not bad at all.

Let's hope Italy don't resort to this kind of carry on again after what happened on Friday. I'm no rat, but it was Antonio Candreva. C-A-N-D-R-E-V-A. Candreva. Can-dray-vah. He deserves to be named and shamed.

Candreva last night for Italy with a pretty pathetic dive... https://t.co/WEEFCTVdlV

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) September 4, 2015

Buffon. Darmian. De Rossi. Verratti. Pelle. Pirlo on the bench. Plenty of stars on show here Dave.

I'm planning to watch the Italy v Bulgaria match tonight. Afterwards hopefully will do the Star Trails I wanted to do last night. — David Blanchflower (@DavidBflower) September 6, 2015

There go my hopes of a Guns N'Roses reunion tour.

Italy v Bulgaria on itv at 7-30pm. might stick it on while eating slash working on my match report from the Whitby game. — Richard Scott (@richscottmedia) September 6, 2015

No handshakes for the pre-match, eh, handshakes. Instead, there's high fives between the two teams. What is this sorcery?

KICKOFF: And we're off in Palermo, Sicily. Italy get us underway. Nothing but a win for Bulgaria will do. Let's go.

That's a fantastic start from the hosts, and De Rossi who, after casually slotting the penalty, is forced to retake due to encroachment. Is he bothered? Nope. The Roma midfielder steps up again and sends another fine penalty home. It was awarded after our old mate Candreva dived AGAIN! That takes a bit of brass.

Italy have taken this game by the you know what. Bulgaria quite literally have not left their own half as of yet and we're 10 minutes deep. Bulgaria need a miracle - they need Hristo Stoichkov and Dimitar Berbatov to reverse the aging process and come on at half time.

SHOT! Not a bad effort from Stephan El Shaarawy, who is teed up by Graziano Pelle but his first-time volley is always bending away from the goal. Still, Italy utterly dominant.

Progress, as Bulgaria, for once, escape their own half - but the joy is short-lived as Leonardo Bonucci wins it back and plays it up to Pelle.

Good defending from Aleksandar Aleksandrov, as Pelle looks to hold the ball up outside the box, but the Bulgarian centre-half is having none of it and he steals from the Southampton striker. It's gone a little quiet in recent minutes. Tempo has died down somewhat.

SAVE! Sloppy from goalscorer De Rossi who loses possession in midfield, as Mitsanski picks his pocket and gallops toward goal. Italy's back four backs off and backs off until the edge of the box, when Mitsanski fires at goal but Buffon pulls off a fine save to tip it past the post, with the corner then coming to nothing. De Rossi owes his goalkeeper a pint - or the Italian equivalent.

Italy survive that scare and they're camped in Bulgaria's half once more, but they're toiling a little. Bulgaria, to their credit, have done well since going behind, with the goal coming via De Rossi's penalty after Candreva dived. Again.

El Shaarawy does well to earn a free kick in a really dangerous position. It's based right on the edge of Bulgaria's box. Pirlo would've been handy here but that's none of my business. #Kermit

CHANCE! Marco Verratti drills an excellent cross into the box, and Pelle glances his header just over the bar. He probably should've let it run because it had the pace and the direction to nestle in the far corner I reckon.

Has the referee lost his whistle? There was three stonewall free kicks - two for Italy, one for Bulgaria - in a madcap few seconds there, but the ref is having none of it.

SHOT! This is a tame free kick from Popov, who drills well wide of Buffon's goal from just outside the box. The wall dispersed, allowing the shot to get through, and had it been on target Buffon might've had a few choice words.

CHANCE! Italy should be two or three up, but it's still one. Verratti, and not for the first time, whips a stunning ball into the area, but De Rossi, with a free header, puts it over the bar. Poor that.

CLOSE! What a goal this would've been as Pelle reaches Candreva's near-post cross, but his first-time volley flies over the bar. He's been good tonight Pelle. Really good. A goal is here for him.

SHOT! Italy well on top now, as Verratti's scooped ball is met by Candreva's fierce volley, which sails well over. Had he scored it would've rivalled Van Basten's famous goal some 25 years ago.

Five minutes until the break now and, if we're being honest, Italy are comfortably on top here - but it's only 1-0. And as long as it is just 1-0, Bulgaria have a chance. Kind of. They've been very poor up front and it remains to be seen if that changes after the break.

So, Italy lead 1-0 at half time, courtesy of Daniele De Rossi's penalty after six minutes. He had to take it twice, and scored twice, to make it that bit more impressive. It came after Antonio Candreva dived unfortunately. He was cautioned for simulation in Friday's 1-0 win over Malta, but that hasn't curtailed his theatrics sadly.

Bit of a meh half overall. Italy have bossed it. Buffon, on his 150th cap, did have one save to make - and what a save it was as he tipped past the post to deny Ilian Mitsanski, who probably should have scored to be truthful.

© Getty Images

RESTART! And we're back. Finally. Italy lead 1-0 but they'll need to work on their finishing because, well, it could be about 4-0. Bulgaria haven't done much, but they need to because they're heading out of the running for qualifying as it stands.

SAVE! Italy start the second as they ended the first, and Marco Parolo's effort looks to be curling toward the far corner, but Bozhidar Mitrev pulls off a very good save.

Excellent layoff by Belle is picked up by El Shaarawy, who is fouled just outside the box. Verratti will bid to swing this home...

Really poor from Verratti, whose free kick hits the wall and Bulgaria clear the danger. This is one of those games where Italy could have a million chances, and a freakishly, fluke Bulgaria goal will earn them a point or something.

DOUBLE RED CARD! Chaos in Palermo as both sides go down to 10 men. De Rossi goes down under a shove in the back by Mitsanski, with the Italian midfielder and goalscorer then kicking out in reaction. That was an easy decision for the ref, who then sends off the Bulgarian striker for nothing! What he has seen there I'll never know. Bizarre. Only one of the red cards was merited.

That moment of controversy hasn't done much to stem Italy's attacking flair, as the Azzurri continue to pile forward in attack. Oddly, Bulgaria look better with 10 men than they ever did with 11. If football was a 10-man game they'd be world champions.

CLOSE! Not far away at all from Nedelev, who fires narrowly over the bar. Buffon looked troubled.

SHOT! Coach Antonio Conte is getting annoyed now and El Shaarawy fires well wide when he should've at least hit the target. Verratti's ball did him no favours, though. It's a funny game this.

SHOT! Another effort from El Shaarawy, and this one is much better, but the Bulgarian stopper makes an easy save. It's just the same thing over and over again from Italy and it's clearly not working. They haven't had a clear-cut chance in quite a while.

The tempo has died down considerably in recent minutes. Nothing happening. Just a reminder that victory for Italy would see them move two points clear at the summit of Group H, and they're third at the moment which should illustrate how tight things are at the moment.

CHANCE! This is a chance for Bulgaria, as the ball is dropped into Italy's danger zone as Chochev looks certain to volley home, but he doesn't get a clean connection on it at all and the chance goes begging. They'll regret that one much more than the others come 90 minutes you imagine.

SUBS: Simone Zaza and Alessandro Florenzi replace Pelle and El Shaarawy respectively. Pelle was excellent tonight.

It seems as if Conte has gone a lot more defensive in recent minutes and it would appear as if he's keen on settling with what he has. Can Bulgaria spoil the party? On this evidence, no. They don't have enough up top to snatch a point - or anything else - I don't think.

So, 10 minutes to go now. Can Bulgaria snatch a late equaliser? It's not looking likely. We're not into pulling punches here on Sports Mole, and this has been dreadful. You wouldn't show your worst enemy footage of this match. You might pull his fingernails off, and put nipple clamps on his, well, nipples, but showing him this would be too mean.

I'm glad to see Verratti drift back into a more QB role really, because he wasn't influencing anything in that number 10 position. His passing has been atrocious today, but thankfully there's only seven minutes left.

Oh Candreva. What have you done. This is so bad, as the Lazio winger has three blue shirts to pick out in the box - a box with only one white shirt - but his cross glides out for a goal kick. Wow. Hasn't been a good night for him.

BOOKING: Yep, Verratti is much better in defensive midfield. He wins a free kick to take the pressure off his defensive teammates as Italy earn much-needed respite. Dyakov was booked for the challenge.

FOUR MINUTES ADDED: Right, a minimum of four minutes added on. Four minutes for Italy to hang on, and for me to stop myself from flinging myself out of a window.

SAVE! Better from Bulgaria, as Milanov stings the hands of Buffon, but you're not going to beat a 150-cap goalkeeper from there. Never in a million years.

So, Daniele De Rossi's sixth-minute penalty is enough to lift Italy up to first in Group H with two qualifiers left! They're effectively through. And Bulgaria? Well, they're effectively out. This was a must-win game for them and they never really looked like coming out of it with anything other than a defeat. De Rossi and Mitsanski were also both red carded in the same incident which, to be fair, the Bulgarian striker was desperately unlucky to see red. Anywho, Bulgaria were shocking. Italy were slightly less shocking. Why sugarcoat it? That's all from us and we'll see you next time!