More than a couple of Italians running late (7)
I believe the answer is:
overdue
'running late' is the definition.
'more than a couple of italians' is the wordplay.
'more than' becomes 'over' (I've seen this in other clues).
'a couple of italians' becomes 'due' ('due' is 'two' in Italian).
'over'+'due'='OVERDUE'
(Other definitions for overdue that I've seen before include "Beyond the expected time" , "Opposite of 1 ac." , "Late arriving" , "Later than expected" , "Past the appointed date for payment" .)