Inter Milan will aim to move above AC Milan in the standings when they face Turin, with whom they have a great record.
Torino boss Ivan Juric has plenty of questions to answer ahead of another crucial Serie A encounter against second-placed Inter Milan. The home side have found life tough in the league recently and will aim to improve their form against a team they have fared miserably in recent seasons.
Torino have not managed to score a goal in their last 270 minutes of action on the pitch, with Duvan Zapata’s leveller against AS Roma their last strike. The Granata are winless in their last four Serie A games, losing two of those, with their last win coming against Salernitana back in September.
In fact, they have drawn their last two home games against AS Roma and Verona, which does call for concern with Inter Milan visiting. With their run of results, Torino have steadily slipped to 14th on the table. So, Juric will have to improve their form in order to not drop down any further, not least near the relegation zone.
Simone Inzaghi will rue their result against Bologna before the international break. Inter Milan took a two-goal lead through Lautaro Martinez and Francesco Acerbi but were pegged back by the opposition, who salvaged a draw.
The result meant Inter Milan lost their place at the summit of the table, as rivals AC Milan managed a narrow victory over Genoa. Their immediate objective will have to be winning against Torino and returning to the very top, at least until Sunday when the Rossoneri play their clash.
Inzaghi can come to Turin in confident form, considering Inter’s recent record against Torino and their away form in general. This season, Inter have scored seven times and conceded none in three matches on the road so far. Against their opponents on Saturday, the Nerazzurri have won seven of their last eight and kept seven clean sheets in the process.
Juric does have some major injury concerns with his squad, with Brandon Soppy, Kofi Djidji, and Alessandro Buongiorno all unavailable for the Inter Milan clash. Furthermore, Saba Sazonov has returned from a foot injury but could lack match fitness ahead of Saturday.
However, there are suggestions that Sozanov could start against Inter Milan, which Juric will see as a boost to his lineup. If that happens, then he could move Adrien Tameze back into midfield and partner with Samuele Ricci. The former had played as a makeshift defender in a back three in Sozanov’s absence.
He will partner Perr Schuurs and Ricardo Rodriguez in that back three, with Raoul Bellanova and Valentino Lazaro keeping their wing-back roles. Nikola Vlasic looks all but certain to play in that attacking midfield role, as Juric has a decision to make on his forwards.
Last season’s top scorer, Antonio Sanabria, hasn’t started games of late, as Duvan Zapata looks certain to lead the line. The signs are towards starting both in the attack, with the latter dropping a bit behind. However, the former Atalanta man needs to improve his record, considering he has not scored in 473 minutes against Inter Milan, mustering a single shot on target during that period.
Inzaghi has a few key decisions on his hands ahead of the Torino clash. The manager has a near-full squad at his disposal, with only Marko Arnautovic and Juan Cuadrado missing with injuries. The striker’s absence has rendered the manager to make some indifferent choices, but he has the players to rotate alongside Martinez.
Martinez is all set to start and continue his impressive form in Serie A. Alexis Sanchez is an option to start alongside the Argentine. Still, he played two full 90-minute games for Chile during the international break. Hence, Marcus Thuram appears to be the likely choice to start in the front two.
Other than that, Inzaghi might bring on Davide Frattesi in place of Nicolo Barella while keeping the other players exactly in their positions in the lineup. After scoring a brace for France against Scotland, Benjamin Pavard will look to continue his form and will lineup alongside Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni in a back three.
In midfield, Hakan Calhanoglou will sit at the base of the midfield, with Frattesi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on either side. The Inter Milan team will have Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco bombing their way forward from the wing-back positions.
for Argentina, Simone Inzaghi will find him in optimal shape ahead of the weekend. Martinez is set to lead the line for the Nerazzurri against Torino and will hope to continue with his impressive away form.
He has ten goals in the league in eight games this season, and half of those have come on the road. He will look to improve that tally ahead of the next important games in Europe and Serie A after this. Hence, one could expect a big performance from the Inter Milan skipper against the opposition with a solid record in recent seasons.
Torino are struggling for relevance in Serie A, and their inability to score goals could have another impact on Saturday. Ivan Juric will continue to keep faith in his forward line, but his strikers will face the force of an Inter Milan defence, who have yet to concede a single goal on the road this season.
With a tremendous defensive record, Inter Milan are also the best attacking team in the division. Led by Lautaro Martinez up front, they are likely to get a few goals on board to down the home team. Hence, Inter Milan are the overwhelming favourites to take three points and take pole position on the Serie A table, until Sunday at the very least.