Having tightened their grip on the title last time out, Inter Milan return from the international break with Sunday’s home game against mid-table Udinese.
The Serie A champions boosted hopes of claiming back-to-back Scudetti by beating Atalanta BC in Bergamo – and a treble triumph is still up for grabs.
Match preview
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Two local rivals squared off in a title showdown as Atalanta hosted Inter just before international football intervened, and it was the Milan giants that prevailed, continuing their dominance in the clubs’ head-to-head record.
Separated by just three points in the Serie A standings, the Nerazzurri pair met soon after Napoli missed a golden chance to seize top spot in Venice, further raising the stakes.
Second-half strikes from Carlos Augusto and captain Lautaro Martinez swung the result Inter’s way for a 10th time in 18 league meetings between the Lombardy teams since Gian Piero Gasperini took charge of La Dea.
So, Simone Inzaghi‘s men have won their last four games across all competitions and are now this term’s undisputed Serie A top scorers: soon to meet AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, then Bayern Munich in the Champions League, there remains plenty to play for this season.
With a tally of 64 points on the board – albeit 12 fewer than at this time last year – Inter are in control of their own destiny, though there are still nine league games to play amid a jam-packed schedule on three fronts.
Having won their last six meetings with Udinese at San Siro by an aggregate scoreline of 16-2, precedent suggests they can take one step closer to retaining their Calcio crown this weekend.
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Indeed, Udinese’s last win over Inter in Milan dates back to December 2017 – and they have already lost twice to the Nerazzurri this season.
Following September’s 3-2 league loss in Udine, the Bianconeri were then knocked out of the cup in January, when they were beaten 2-0 at San Siro.
More recently, a streak of six games without defeat had helped their quest for a top-10 finish, but the Fruili club then lost at home to struggling Hellas Verona, failing to score past Serie A’s leakiest defence.
Nonetheless, Udinese have collected 40 points from 29 games so far, which represents their best tally at this point since 2012-13 – a season in which they ultimately claimed fifth spot.
While such a lofty finish is off the table this year, Kosta Runjaic and co are still vying with Torino and Genoa to secure a top-half placing in May.
So, any repeat of last term’s scrap for survival – when they nearly dropped down to Serie B on the final matchday – has been comfortably averted.
Team News
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Set to meet both Milan and Bayern Munich twice before the end of April – in addition to their Serie A commitments – Inter could rotate their resources accordingly.
Simone Inzaghi must make at least one change to the side that defeated Atalanta, as Alessandro Bastoni serves a one-match ban for being sent off against his former club.
Furthermore, star striker Lautaro Martinez may miss out, having recently withdrawn from the Argentina squad due to a hamstring injury.
‘El Toro’ therefore joins Denzel Dumfries and Piotr Zielinski on the sidelines; in better news for Inzaghi, wing-backs Matteo Darmian, Federico Dimarco and Nicola Zalewski should now be available.
Meanwhile, Udinese are still without ex-Inter star Alexis Sanchez, plus reserve goalkeeper Razvan Sava and long-term absentee Isaak Toure.
As Hassane Kamara returns from suspension, he will battle it out with Jordan Zemura for selection on the Bianconeri’s left flank.
Troubled by a foot problem, Florian Thauvin is hopeful of being passed fit to partner Lorenzo Lucca up front. The latter has scored 10 Serie A goals this season – including one against Inter – half of which have been headers.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Augusto; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Correa, Thuram
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Kristensen, Bijol, Solet; Ehizibue, Lovric, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp, Kamara; Thauvin, Lucca
We say: Inter Milan 2-0 Udinese
With greater challenges ahead, Inter’s aim will be to build up a lead during the first half before conserving precious energy during the second.
That may not be entirely straightforward against an improved Udinese side, but the hosts’ greater guile will pay off in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
