Inter Milan will take on Cagliari in Serie A on Monday, looking to continue their impressive start to the season with a victory away from home.
Inter Milan will face Cagliari on Monday night, hoping to continue their strong start to the new campaign. The Nerazzurri had a disappointing 2022/23 season by their standards, and they finished third in the league table. They will be hoping to win the league title this year, and these are matches they should be winning in order to match up to their title rivals.
Meanwhile, Cagliari have done well to secure promotion to the top flight, and they will look to establish themselves in the Serie A this year. They were held to a draw against Torino in their opening league game and will be hoping to pull off a morale-boosting victory at home against Inter Milan.
The away side are undoubtedly the better team here and it remains to be seen whether Cagliari can pull off an upset. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Full steam ahead to #CagliariInter 💨#ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/uyfGfu9szP
— Inter (@Inter_en) August 24, 2023
Team News & Tactics
Cagliari
The home side have a number of injury issues to deal with, and they will be without the services of Gianluca Lapadula, Marko Rog and Marco Mancuso on Monday.
I convocati per #CagliariInter 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/6SQWxUvyvE
— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) August 27, 2023
Cagliari are set to start in a 3-4-3 formation here, with Boris Radunovic in goal. In the back three, Edoardo Goldaniga will start alongside Alberto Dossena and Adam Obert. Gabriele Zappa and Paulo Azzi will be deployed as the wing-backs here, and they will look to protect the defence and help out during counter-attacks.
Ibrahim Sulemana will start in the midfield with Antoine Makoumbou. The two players will look to break up the Inter Milan attacks and win the ball back for their side.
Gaetano Oristanio will lead the line for the hosts, with Nahitan Nandez and Zito Luvumbo on either side of him. The two players will add width to the side and they will drop deep from time to time to help out in the midfield as well.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Radunovic; Goldaniga, Dossena, Obert; Zappa, Sulemana, Makoumbou, Azzi; Nandez, Oristanio, Luvumbo
Inter Milan
Francesco Acerbi is ruled out for the away side with an injury. Otherwise, Simone Inzaghi has a full-strength squad at his disposal. The visitors are likely to start in a 3-5-2 formation, with Yann Sommer in goal.
Matteo Darmian will start in the back three along with Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni. Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco will be deployed as the wing-backs. They will look to add width and creativity to the side along with their defensive duties.
Nicolo Barella will start in central midfield along with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu. Barella will look to add composure and control in the middle of the park, while Mkhitaryan and Calhanoglu will look to add creativity and vision. Finally, Marcus Thuram will start alongside Lautaro Martinez in the final third.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Darmian, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Key Stats
- Inter Milan have won eight of their last nine matches in Serie A.
- Inter Milan have been winning at both half-time and full-time in six of their last seven Serie A matches.
- Inter Milan are unbeaten in the last six matches against Cagliari.
- The last six meetings between Cagliari and Inter Milan have produced a total of 20 goals.
- Four of the last six meetings between these two sides have seen both teams get on the scoresheet.
Player to Watch
Lautaro Martinez
Lauti 🎯#ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/NT8n6zhR8Z
— Inter (@Inter) August 23, 2023
The Argentine international is one of the best players in the league, and he is certainly the best attacker at the club. Lautaro Martinez will look to get on the score sheet here and help create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.
The World Cup winner scored twice in the opening game of the league campaign and will look to build on that form here as well. The Argentine international is our key player to watch out for on Monday night.
Prediction
Cagliari 1-3 Inter Milan
The gulf in class between the two teams is substantial, and the home side are unlikely to be able to pull off an upset. Inter Milan will be fairly confident heading into the game after a comprehensive win against Monza in the last game.
The visitors have an impressive head-to-head record against Cagliari, and they should be able to extend it with another win here. A comfortable 3-1 victory away from home is on the cards for Inter Milan against Cagliari.