Inter Milan will look to win three Serie A games on the bounce as they look to get their season back on track against Fiorentina.
Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan go into the trip to Fiorentina on the back of consecutive wins in the league. Another triumph at the Stadio Artemio Franchi will see them make it three wins in a row for the first time in Serie A this season.
Inter Milan have seen an upturn in form and results in recent weeks. This has seen them give their Serie A campaign renewed hope while also giving them a real shot at progressing beyond the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.
A win on the night will see the Nerazzurri stay within sight of the top. With the majority of the season still to go, remaining within striking distance will give Inzaghi and co. enough impetus to go all out at the business end of the season.
Fiorentina are not the force they once were and are seriously lacking in firepower. This works well for an Inter side that have appeared vulnerable at the back. Inter will also have an eye on their upcoming Champions League tie against Viktoria Plzen, and it could factor into their team selection on the night.
Fiorentina, for their part, are 13th in the table and will need to get points on the board. The sooner they get into top gear, the further they can keep themselves from being embroiled in the relegation dogfight. The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up on the night and what tactics they might employ.
Team News & Tactics
Fiorentina
Focus on #FiorentinaInter ⚜️#ForzaViola #Fiorentina #ACFFiorentina pic.twitter.com/MuuZ2Jj5kR
— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) October 21, 2022
Fiorentina have endured a difficult start to the season and are yet to find their stride. Vincenzo Italiano’s side feels the lack of a prolific striker and have never quite replaced Dusan Vlahovic, who left the club for Juventus last January.
This shows on the field with Fiorentina finding the back of the net just eight times in their opening ten games. To put it into perspective, only bottom-placed Sampdoria have found the back of the net fewer times.
Playing against a reinvigorated Inter side will be no mean task, but Fiorentina will need to make the most of home advantage to make it count. They will be without Gaetano Castrovilli and potentially Luka Jovic, who was withdrawn against Lecce. Riccardo Sottil is likely to return to the lineup with Sofyan Amrabat back from suspension.
Italiano is likely to go with a 4-3-3 on the night. Pietro Terracciano is set to start in goal behind the back four of Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Lucas Martinez Quarta and Cristiano Biraghi. The midfield is likely to be set up in a triangle with Rolando Mandragora starting at its apex as the defensive midfielder.
His presence should give Sofyan Amrabat and Giacomo Bonaventura the impetus to push forward when needed. Arthur Cabral looks set to start up front with Christian Kouame and Nicolas Gonzalez alongside him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Mandragora, Amrabat; Kouame, Cabral, Gonzalez
Inter Milan
Star midfielder Marcelo Brozovic is still out injured, and his absence will be apparent in the Inter midfield. However, it is not all bad news as Romelu Lukaku should return to the matchday squad. The Belgian striker’s return should give the Nerazzurri more options to choose from at a time when games are coming thick and fast.
Another player who is likely to return to the first-team fold is Roberto Gagliardini. The Italian midfielder missed last week’s game against Sampdoria and is now close to returning to action. Simone Inzaghi has an otherwise full-strength squad to choose from for the game.
The Inter Milan boss appears to have made up his mind to thrive or die using his 3-5-2 philosophy and will retain the formation on the night. Andre Onana seems to have replaced Samir Handanovic as the club’s number-one goalkeeper and should retain his spot in between the sticks.
Mister Inzaghi ai nostri 🎤 in vista della sfida al Franchi 🔜#ForzaInter #FiorentinaInter
— Inter (@Inter) October 21, 2022
He will be protected by the back three of Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni. Kristjan Asllani is likely to get the nod in central midfield alongside Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu. Federico Dimarco and Denzel Dumfries should start wide as the wing-backs. Calhanoglu has a good record against Fiorentina, scoring against them four times in Serie A.
Lautaro Martinez has rediscovered his scoring shoes and is a shoo-in to start up front. He will be accompanied by Edin Dzeko, with Lukaku and Joaquin Correa having to settle onto the bench.
With the crucial UEFA Champions League clash against Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday, it is in Inter’s best interests to wrap up the result against La Viola quickly and then rest their star players. It will not come as a surprise if they start with a bang and take the game to the home side.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Onana; Skriniar, de Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Dzeko, Martinez
Key Stats
- Inter Milan are unbeaten in their last 10 Serie A meetings against Fiorentina. A win on the night will see Inter Milan making it three consecutive wins away to Fiorentina for the first time since 1977/80.
- Fiorentina have won just one of their last nine home games in Serie A.
- Inter Milan have now gone 19 games with a draw in Serie A, the longest such run in the league at the moment.
- Fiorentina have the joint second-east prolific attack (eight goals) in Serie A at the end of 10 games this season. Only the bottom side Sampdoria have a poorer return.
- Nicolo Barella is among three midfielders from across Europe’s top five leagues to garner 15 or more assists since the beginning of the 2021/22 season.
Player to Watch
Lautaro Martinez
The Argentine international appears to have rediscovered not just his scoring boots but also his confidence. Martinez has been in good nick of late and is coming off impressive goal-scoring performances against Barcelona and Sampdoria.
With just around a month to go before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he will be keen to make an impact and make his case to start for Argentina. Keeping Inter’s winning run going will also keep them in good shape ahead of the second half of the campaign.
Quick on his feet and intelligent to boot, Martinez is a difficult player to pin down. His ability to run into space and link up with his teammates makes him the ace in Simone Inzaghi’s pocket.
Prediction
Fiorentina 0-2 Inter Milan
Inter go into the game as favourites and should have little trouble in dispatching La Viola on the night. Lautaro Martinez will be keen to continue his scoring spree and is likely to be Inter’s most dangerous attacker on the night. Fiorentina will be expected to put up a good fight, but the Nerazzurri’s quality and strength in depth should eventually prevail.
