:: Ireland and Italy have met 26 times, with Ireland victorious on 22 occasions, and the Azzurri four.

:: Ireland will aim for their fifth consecutive win over Italy, having last lost to the Italians in Rome in 2013.

:: Jamie Heaslip will move past Malcolm O'Kelly to become Ireland's eighth most-capped player of all time in Rome, claiming his 93rd Test appearance.

Will @sergioparisse be fit for #ITAvIRE?

The signs are positive: https://t.co/M6U2MHicBm pic.twitter.com/dnccf7LYlc

— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 8, 2017

:: Sergio Parisse will extend his record as Italy's record caps holder to 123 Test bows this weekend. Parisse will also captain Italy for the 75th time.

Joe Schmidt makes two changes for trip to Italy https://t.co/pPGb9aXeCm pic.twitter.com/UppTNRiDiU

— breakingnews.ie (@breakingnewsie) February 9, 2017

:: Ireland boss Joe Schmidt has made two changes to the side that lost 27-22 in Scotland, with Donnacha Ryan and Cian Healy replacing Iain Henderson and Jack McGrath.

:: Italy show four changes from the side that were beaten 33-7 at home by Wales last weekend, with hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini, lock Dries van Schalkwyk, flanker Simone Favaro and Treviso wing Angelo Esposito all starting.

:: Scrum-half Conor Murray will make his 50th start for Ireland on Saturday, in his 55th cap overall.

:: Italy coach Conor O'Shea will coach a Test team against his home nation Ireland for the first time in his career.

:: Kieran Marmion is in line for his 10th Ireland cap off the bench, with Saturday also his 25th birthday.

Nice to see @cgilroy14 back in the @IrishRugby squad for Saturday's game against Italy. All the best Craig #SUFTUM pic.twitter.com/rgZCWLR6jl

— UlsterRugbySP 🏉 (@UlsterRugbySP) February 9, 2017

:: Ulster wing Craig Gilroy has won selection to an RBS 6 Nations match squad for the first time with Ireland since 2013.