Italy hooker Fabio Ongaro believes his team need to be wary of a Scotland backlash when the two teams meet in Rome on Saturday.
Both sides lost their opening two matches in the Six Nations and this game is being seen by many as a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
For Italy it represents their best chance of ending their seven-match losing streak in the tournament, dating back to when they beat the Scots at home in the last match of the 2008 competition.
But Ongaro believes they will face a fierce test.
"We know that both for us and the Scots, this is one of the most important matches of the tournament, but the pressure is no different to the other games," said the Saracens player.
"In my opinion, the Scots are playing the best rugby of the Six Nations and it was only because of some individual errors that they failed to beat Wales last time out.
"I think they know that they only lost that match because of their own uncertainty and not because of Wales's strengths and for that reason they'll want to bounce back on Saturday at the Stadio Flaminio.
"But we're also a bit disppointed from our match against England where despite the defeat we played better than them.
"We put them under pressure and we saw how we're gaining confidence in our own ability."
Italy Squad:
Forwards (13):
Matias Aguero (Saracens/ENG), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais/FRA), Marco Bortolami (Gloucester/ENG), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester/ENG), Lorenzo Cittadini (Treviso), Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Viadana), Paul Derbyshire (Padova), Quintin Geldenhuys (Viadana), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Treviso, capt.), Fabio Ongaro (Saracens/ENG), Salvatore Perugini (Bayonne/FRA), Josh Sole (Viadana), Alessandro Zanni (Treviso)
Backs (11):
Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais/FRA), Riccardo Bocchino (Rovigo), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont/FRA), Pablo Canavosio (Viadana), Gonzalo Garcia (Treviso), Craig Gower (Bayonne/FRA), Andrea Masi (Racing Metro/FRA), Luke McLean (Treviso), Kaine Robertson (Viadana), Alberto Sgarbi (Treviso), Tito Tebaldi (Parma)
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