Inter Milan will aim to go into 2024 with a healthy lead atop Serie A when they take on Genoa at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium on Friday.
The 2023/24 Serie A season resumes after the Christmas break with Matchday 18. Friday will bring us four fixtures, with the action kicking off with the game between Napoli and AC Monza before ending with two simultaneous games. One of those will have Genoa welcoming Inter Milan to the Luigi Ferraris Stadium.
Genoa came into the 2023/24 campaign after sealing automatic promotion back to Serie A last season. So, Il Grifone being in the mid-table positions is an impressive performance thus far this term. Alberto Gilardino’s men have found themselves in the relegation zone only after Matchday 1, while a run of one defeat in their most recent four encounters has consolidated their position in the standings.
As for Inter Milan, the Nerazzurri finished well behind Napoli last season, with Lazio clinching the second spot. But Simone Inzaghi’s methods are finally paying off, with the Lautaro Martinez era kicking off splendidly. While Inzaghi’s men narrowly finished second in their UEFA Champions League group, they are four points ahead of Juventus atop Serie A. The table-toppers are now the favourites to win a second title in four years.
The reverse fixture opened Serie A for Inter Milan and AC Monza, with a Lautaro Martinez brace earning the Nerazzurri the three points. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Genoa
Alberto Gilardino does not have many issues hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Inter Milan on Friday, the Genoa manager will be bereft of the services of only two first-team players.
Mateo Retegui (thigh) and Junior Messias (muscle injury) will be the only absentees for the home side. Otherwise, Gilardino has a fully fit squad for his team’s final game of a memorable 2023.
Josep Martinez will take his spot between the sticks, with Genoa lining up in a 3-4-1-2 formation in front of him. The central defensive unit should feature Koni De Winter, Mattia Bani, and the in-demand Radu Dragusin. Stefano Sabelli and Johan Vasquez should be the two wing-backs. Sabelli, in particular, will look to provide the width in the final third.
As for the midfield unit, Milan Badelj and Morten Frendrup will pair up in the double pivot. The duo will look to keep things tight in the middle of the park while providing the forward thrust. Ruslan Malinovskyi will pull the strings in the final third, with Caleb Ekuban and Albert Gudmundsson being the two strikers.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Martinez; De Winter, Bani, Dragusin; Sabelli, Frendrup, Badelj, Vasquez; Malinovskyi; Ekuban, Gudmundsson
Inter Milan
Unlike his counterpart in the Genoa dugout, Simone Inzaghi has a few pressing concerns to deal with ahead of the trip to the Luigi Ferraris Stadium. The Inter Milan manager will be without four first-team players on Friday.
Lautaro Martinez is the most notable absentee, with the Inter Milan captain still recovering from a hamstring issue. The Argentine international accompanies Federico Dimarco (thigh), Juan Cuadrado (Achilles), and Denzel Dumfries (muscle injury) on the sidelines.
Inter Milan will line up in Inzaghi’s usual 3-5-2 formation, with Yann Sommer taking his spot between the sticks. Yann Bisseck has risen in stature this season and will accompany Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni in the central defensive unit.
Meanwhile, Dimarco and Dumfries’s absence means Matteo Darmian and Carlos Augusto should be the two wing-backs. They will cover Nicolo Barella, Hakan Canhaloglu, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The trio will be responsible for creating the goalscoring opportunities for the two strikers, who should be Marcus Thuram and Marko Arnautovic, who will deputise for Martinez.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Augusto; Thuram, Arnautovic
Key Stats
- Inter Milan have won 22 of the last 33 matches played between them and Genoa (D6 L5).
- Genoa have failed to score in their last eight matches against Inter Milan in the Serie A – the longest such streak in a fixture in the competition since 2016.
- Genoa have racked up four points in their last two Serie A games and could go unbeaten in three consecutive league matches for the first time this season.
- After losing two of their first four matches at home in the Serie A this season, Genoa are unbeaten in their last four such games in the competition.
- Inter Milan have won 39 games across all competitions this year. A win over Genoa on Friday will help them equal their best-ever tally in a calendar year (40 in 2005).
Player to Watch
Marcus Thuram
With Lautaro Martinez no closer to returning to action ahead of Friday’s Serie A game, the onus will be on Marcus Thuram to deliver the goods. Marko Arnautovic will fill Martinez’s void in the team. But the role of the offensive leader will fall on Thuram’s shoulders.
The Frenchman has hit the ground running since joining Inter Milan in a Bosman move this past summer. With Thuram embracing the added responsibility, he is coming leaps and bounds at the Serie A club. And the former Borussia Monchengladbach attacker will be the go-to man for Simone Inzaghi on Saturday.
Prediction
Genoa 1-2 Inter Milan
Genoa’s recent performances at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium mean Inter Milan cannot take the home side for granted. The hosts are unbeaten in their last four outings at home in the league. So, they will give the table-toppers a run for their money on Friday.
In addition, Lautaro Martinez’s absence means Inter Milan will unlikely blow Genoa away. But Marcus Thuram will rise to the occasion again to deliver the goods and the three points. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for Simone Inzaghi and his charges.
