The Italians will be grateful for a relatively easy tie away to the Faroe Islands while Europe's other top sides also look set for comfortable wins in a qualifying campaign that for many of them has been too easy.
Netherlands should make it seven wins out of seven as they host San Marino while Germany will become the first team to qualify for the finals in Poland and Ukraine next year if they beat visitors Austria to record an eighth straight win.
Cesare Prandelli's Italy have been in excellent form in Group C, where they have 16 points from six games with a five-point lead and game in hand over second-placed Slovenia.
They should continue that run in the Faroe Islands, although they will have to brush off the cobwebs first with a players' strike having delayed the start of Serie A.
"Everyone thinks that a win is in the bag, but in reality it depends on how we face the match. The lack of matches worries me," Prandelli said.
"I'd be even more worried if we had to face a big team such as France. September is traditionally a difficult time for Italian football and even one round of [Serie A] matches would have been a help."
A win on Friday followed by another at home to Slovenia the following Tuesday would guarantee Italy top spot and be a welcome distraction from the domestic chaos, where the League and Players' Union are at loggerheads over a new collective agreement.
