Inter Milan will look to strengthen their grip on a top-four spot when they play host to Udinese on Saturday night.
Inter Milan will be seeking revenge for their hefty early-season defeat to Udinese when the two teams meet again for the return fixture at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday.
Truth be told, Inter are enduring an erratic start to 2023 in Serie A, comfortably beating the heavyweights in the form of Napoli and Milan only to undo a lot of good work by dropping points to the likes of Sampdoria, Empoli, and Monza.
They are clinging to second place in Serie A ahead of this weekend’s encounter against Udinese, with the club keeping a close eye on the results of Atalanta and Roma, who are just behind them in the table.
Because of Napoli’s imperious form and a realistically unsurmountable lead, no title race is expected to happen in the business end of the Serie A season. The race for the top four, however, remains very unpredictable, with Inter leading the chasing pack right now. That being said, Simeone Inzaghi’s men cannot afford to take their eyes off the ball, especially after dropping points last weekend.
Inter dominated possession and managed 25 shots to 19th-placed Sampdoria’s seven, but the Romelu Lukaku-led attack could not find a way through in a 0-0 draw away from home. The Nerazzurri have an excellent home record this season, though, and will look to make home advantage count when they host Le Zebrette this weekend.
The good thing for Simone Inzaghi’s men is that their opponent’s outlook doesn’t look very promising either. Udinese’s positive start to the season has been dampened by just one league win in 2023 and dire defeats at the hands of Juventus, Bologna, and Torino.
The visitors scored the fastest goal of the season against Sassuolo when Tottenham-bound Destiny Udogie scored inside 30 seconds, but they could not keep their opponents out, and the game ended 1-1.
Udinese’s early season form, when Andrea Sottil’s side bombed into the top four, has waned in recent times, and it appears unlikely that Udinese will be able to compete with the likes of Lazio and Milan.
However, they are unlikely to be fazed by Inter’s stature and can take motivation in the way they inflicted a 3-1 defeat upon their forthcoming opponents back in September last year when the Nerazzurri visited Dacia Arena in the reverse fixture.
Team News & Tactics
Inter Milan
Hard at work 👷#ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/uTwsfU9FQC
— Inter (@Inter_en) February 16, 2023
Head coach Simone Inzaghi will have to make do without the services of absentee Joaquin Correa, with the winger picking up a thigh injury and won’t be available for at least a couple of weeks, though the Nerazzurri squad is relatively injury free elsewhere.
While Inter are set to line up in their usual 3-5-2 formation and its variants, Inzaghi would potentially be considering some rotations throughout his lineup, with one eye on the Champions League fixture against Porto next midweek. One player who is certain to start is goalkeeper Andre Onana.
In defense, Stefan de Vrij could get the nod ahead of Francesco Acerbi at the heart of a three-man backline alongside Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni in order to give the former Lazio man a rest ahead of the Champions League last-16 first leg.
In the wing-back slots, both Matteo Darmian and Robin Gosens might make way for Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco as part of the rotation. It is evidently an attacking switch that Inter may need as part of their additional firepower to break down Udinese’s defence as well as to cope with Destiny Udogie’s threat.
In midfield, Henrikh Mkhitaryan should make way for returning Marcelo Brozovic, who will sit at the base. This means Hakan Calhanoglu should operate a bit on the left side, where he can utilise the width provided by the marauding wingback Dimarco, who has attracted interest from Premier League leaders Manchester City over the midweek. Nicolo Barella could keep his spot as a right-sided midfielder.
Inter will almost certainly look towards Lautaro Martinez to carry the goal-scoring burden again, with the talismanic striker emerging as a genuine clutch scorer in 2023. Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku started for Inter in Monday’s goalless draw against Sampdoria, and the Belgian striker will be hoping for better luck in front of goal here as he looks to rediscover his shooting boots.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Onana; De Vrij, Skriniar, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Lukaku
Udinese
🔜 #InterUdinese 👊
⚪️⚫️ #ForzaUdinese #AlèUdin #Udinese #Training pic.twitter.com/rJDC2pkgXU
— Udinese Calcio (@Udinese_1896) February 17, 2023
Versatile winger Gerard Deulofeu is still out for Udinese, though Le Zebrette have few personnel issues beyond that. Udine boss Andrea Sottil looks set to name last week’s 3-5-2/3-5-1-1 lineup and is unlikely to make many personnel tweaks.
Marco Silvestri will start in goal behind a back three of Nehuen Perez, Rodrigo Becao, and Jaka Bijol. Kingsley Ehizibue and Destiny Udogie will hold the wing-back spots and have a key role on the night against Inter, especially the latter, who has been a vital source of goals for the visitors this season.
Walace will hold the fort in midfield alongside Lazar Samardzic and Tolgay Arslan in the middle of the park. The trio will need to be aggressive and smart to deny Brozovic from controlling the tempo.
Although topping the Serie A scoring charts for Udinese this season with seven goals, Beto hasn’t found the back of the net in his past four league games. The towering striker is known for his dribbling, gangliness, and strong finishing, and he would pose a serious threat to Inter on counter-attacks. Ex-Watford attacking midfielder Roberto Pereyra will reprise the creator role behind the 25-year-old.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Silvestri; Becao, Bijol, Perez; Ehizibue, Samardzic, Walace, Arslan, Udogie; Pereyra; Beto
Key Stats
- Udinese have failed to win 13 of their last 14 Serie A matches.
- Inter have won six of their last seven home games against Udinese in all competitions.
- Inter have won four of their last five home league games with a clean sheet—all of those five fixtures have finished with a 1-0 scoreline.
- In fact, Inter boasts a terrific home record this season, having won nine of their 11 home league games, conceding just five goals in the process.
- No defender has scored more goals (penalties excluded) than Udinese full-back Destiny Udogie in Europe’s top five leagues since the start of the 2021-22 season—eight, tied with Achraf Hakimi.
Player to Watch
Lautaro Martinez
Lautaro Martinez has been unstoppable this season and has been firing on all cylinders since returning from the World Cup in Qatar, where he helped Argentina create history. Widely regarded as one of the best young strikers in the world at the moment, the Argentine striker has netted 12 times so far this season and has been a real difference-maker for the Nerazzurri, scoring match-winning goals in their last three Serie A wins.
With Lukaku also showing signs of regaining his speed and agility with more minutes under his belt, the deadly strike duo could be in full swing at the weekend.
Prediction
Inter Milan 2-0 Udinese
Inter Milan will be looking to get back to winning ways against Udinese on Saturday before facing FC Porto in the Champions League. However, Udinese still have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe this season, so they are unlikely to be rolled over for Inter this weekend.
While Inter are unquestionably the better team on paper, this matchup is likely to be a tight call, similar to the Sampdoria stalemate- the Zebrette, however, may not be able to hold fast, and Inter’s superior quality should shine through at San Siro.
