Wales v Italy, Six Nations 2020: What time does the match start, what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction?

What is it?

The first match of the 2020 Six Nations, between Wales and Italy at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff.

When is it?

Saturday February 1.

What time is kick-off?

Kick-off is at 2.15pm, the first of the day's games.

What TV channel is it on?

Six Nations coverage is shared between BBC and ITV with this matching being aired by the BBC (channel tbc).

You can also follow live coverage of match right here with Telegraph Sport.

What is the latest squad news?

Wales

Saracens centre Nick Tompkins and 18-year-old Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit have both been named in Wales' squad.

They are joined by three more uncapped players in Sale Sharks prop WillGriff John, Wasps lock Will Rowlands and Scarlets wing Johnny McNicholl, and there is also a recall for scrum-half Rhys Webb.

Webb last played Test rugby just over two years ago before joining French club Toulon and ruling himself out of Wales contention because he did not meet the minimum 60-cap selection criteria for players plying their trade outside the country.

Tompkins, 24, represented England Saxons in 2016 and is an England Under-20 World Cup winner, but he qualifies for Wales through his Wrexham-born grandmother.

He will give coach Wayne Pivac an additional midfield option, with Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies sidelined for the entire Six Nations due to injury and Ospreys' Owen Watkin recovering from a knee problem.

Watkin is named in the squad, along with Scarlets-bound Saracens back Liam Williams, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury during the World Cup.

PA

Italy

Italy’s most-capped rugby player Sergio Parisse will get a chance to finish his 18-year career in front of his home fans at this year’s Six Nations tournament when the Italians play Scotland and England at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

The loose forward, 36, was set to retire after Italy’s World Cup campaign in Japan last year but was denied his chance to play a potential farewell match when Typhoon Hagibis forced the cancellation of their final pool game against New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Alberto Sgarbi could be in line for a first cap in six years after being named in a 35-man Italy squad.

The experienced Benetton centre last appeared for Italy on a summer tour to Fiji back in 2014, but has been rewarded for his efforts with a recall having captained the franchise in their recent rise.

Elsewhere Franco Smith has brought in three new faces, Zebre prop Danilo Fischetti who was called into the squad for the World Cup but did not play due to Typhoon Hagibis, Benetton lock Niccolò Cannone and Zebre full-back Michelangelo Biondelli.

Italy squad for 2020 Six Nations

Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli (Edinburgh), Danilo Fischetti (Zebre), Andrea Lovotti (Zebre), Marco Riccioni (Benetton), Giosue Zilocchi (Zebre), Luca Bigi (Zebre), Oliviero Fabiani (Zebre), Federico Zani (Benetton), Dean Budd (Benetton), Niccolo Cannone (Argos Petrarca Rugby/Benetton), Federico Ruzza (Benetton), David Sisi (Zebre), Alessandro Zanni (Benetton), Marco Lazzaroni (Benetton), Giovanni Licata (Zebre), Johan Meyer (Zebre), Sebastian Negri (Benetton), Jake Polledri (Gloucester), Abraham Steyn (Benetton)

Backs: Callum Braley (Gloucester), Guglielmo Palazzani (Zebre), Marcello Violi (Zebre), Tommaso Allan (Benetton), Carlo Canna (Zebre), Giulio Bisegni (Zebre), Tommaso Boni (Zebre), Luca Morisi (Benetton), Alberto Sgarbi (Benetton), Mattia Bellini (Zebre), Tommaso Benvenuti (Benetton), Michelangelo Biondelli (Fiamme Oro Rugby/Zebre), Jayden Hayward (Benetton), Matteo Minozzi (Wasps), Edoardo Padovani (Zebre), Leonardo Sarto (Benetton)

Reuters

What happened in this fixture in 2019?

Wales were 26-15 winners in Rome, a match which equalled their longest unbeaten Test run, on their way to winning the Grand Slam.

What do Telegraph Sport's writers think?

Rugby reporters Ben Coles and Charlie Morgan have been hard at work analysing Wayne Pivac's inaugural squad as Wales coach. You can read Ben's analysis of the squad here, while Charlie has taken a detailed look at two of the new boys, Louis Rees-Zammit and Nick Tompkins.

Kate Rowan, meanwhile, interviewed Italy's hard-hitting flanker Jake Polledri on Italy's World Cup grievances and having to now shift the pounds due to Azzurri's 'much more carby diet'. You can read that here.

What are the betting odds?

• Wales - 1/20

• Italy - 18/1

Draw - 66/1

Follow the latest odds throughout the tournament

What is our prediction?

Predicted score: New-look Wales, on the back of losing a World Cup semi-final, will be too much for the plucky Italians, especially at home. There is intrigue, however, as to whether new head coach Wayne Piuvac will see this match as an opportunity to blood some of his inexperienced younger guns, against what is seemingly the tournament's weakest opposition; he has not ruled out a debut for 18-year-old Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit, for example. The Italians, spearheaded by the irrepressible Jake Polledri, will put up a fight, as always, but Wales', even without some of their bigger-name internationals, will have too much class. Wales 28 Italy 18