With no less than 50 Olympic, world or European medallists or Diamond League winners at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, the fifth leg of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League at Rome's Stadio Olimpico will be another stage for fine-tuning ahead of the Rio Olympics in August.
Gatlin has form in the Italian capital, last year tying Maurice Greene's record of four wins at the Golden Gala and breaking Usain Bolt's meeting record with 9.75sec.
Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion who was banned for doping between 2006 and 2010, clocked a wind-assisted 9.88 seconds at Eugene last week.
The world No 1 took the tape ahead of Jamaican Asafa Powell and American Tyson Gay and will doubtless seek to extend that form heading into the Rio Games.
The 100m line-up also features Asian record holder Femi Ogunode, European record holder Jimmy Vicaut and South African record holder Akani Simbine.
But the blue riband event could well be eclipsed by the men's 3000m steeplechase, which promises to be an electric race.
All three podium finishers from the 2015 Beijing world championships will be in Rome: four-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto and Conseslus Kipruto.
To that trio are added two more Kenyans in the shape of Golden Gala record holder Paul Kipsiele Koech and Jairus Birech, winner of the two last editions of the Diamond Race who has announced he would this season target the world record set by Kenyan-born Qatari Saif Saeed Shaheen (7:53.63) in 2004.
