Inter Milan will be looking to keep their top spot in the Serie A standings when they host bottom-placed and relegation favourites AC Monza at San Siro on Saturday.
Simone Inzaghi will have rued his team’s luck in their efforts to open a considerable gap at the top over second-placed Napoli last weekend. The game ended in an eventful draw, which may have favoured Napoli more than Inter Milan, although the latter managed to keep their top spot ahead of their next Serie A game against AC Monza.
Fortunately for both Napoli and Inter, third-placed Atalanta could not make their presence felt with a goalless draw against Hellas Verona. For now, the Nerazzurri are leading the charts with a single-point lead, meaning they will have to be perfect in most games remaining in this season. Inzaghi will be aware that Napoli will waste no time in overtaking them in the table.
Inter Milan were involved in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week, and they managed to find a victory away from home against Feyenoord to take a 2-0 first leg lead. The goals of strike pair Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez proved enough, and Inzaghi will want a similar display against the bottom-placed Monza at San Siro on Saturday.
Italian legend Alessandro Nesta is not having the best of times managing Monza, as his team are bottom of the league table, with little hope of bringing about any revival in the remainder of the season. It has been seven Serie A games since the team won a game of football, as they have lost six of those seven games since.
Last weekend’s 2-0 loss to Torino left Monza nine points off the closest team out of the relegation zone. They have a more significant task at hand at San Siro. They managed to come close to beating Inter Milan in the reverse fixture, only for a Denzel Dumfries equaliser to kill their hope. They had not beaten the Nerazzurri at San Siro since 2023 when they made it to the top flight.
Team News & Tactics
Inter Milan
Inter Milan do not have problems with injuries despite missing some key stars ahead of the game against AC Monza. As things stand, all three of their left-wing backs are missing from action. Federico Dimarco and Nicola Zalewski are certainly out of contention for this weekend.
Simone Inzaghi did hint at the possibility of having Carlos Augusto back in the mix, as it remains to be seen whether the wide-man is fit enough to start. He will start should he prove his fitness. Otherwise, it might be another game where the manager starts Alessandro Bastoni in the wide position on the left-hand side.
Matteo Darmian is also missing from action, which would lead to another start for Denzel Dumfries on the right flank. There might be some key changes from the midweek trip to Feyenoord, as Nicolo Barella might retain his place in midfield. But Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan might return to the fold.
It remains to be seen whether Inzaghi would like to start both his main centre-forward for this one, as he could give someone like Joaquin Correa a run-out. However, it might be Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez alongside one of Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic against AC Monza on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, de Vrij, Bisseck; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Bastoni; Taremi, Martinez
Monza
AC Monza are short on confidence and points, and Alessandro Nesta faces an even more enormous task at San Siro with his squad’s injury problems ahead of the game against Inter Milan. Former Inter Milan trio Stefano Sensi, Roberto Gagliardini, and Luca Caldirola are all out of contention.
In addition, Gianluca Caprari, Andrea Carboni, and Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro are missing from the action. With the squad available at his disposal, Nesta could prefer a back three, with Armando Izzo, Arvid Brorsson, and Tomas Palacios set to form the central defensive partnership.
Pedro Pereira and Georgios Kyriakopoulos are likely options in the wing-back roles, as Nesta will prefer a midfield trio of Kacper Urbanski, Alessandro Bianco, and Kevin Zeroli, who are likely to start in those central positions.
Nesta might also continue experimenting with winter signings Silvere Ganvoula and Keita Balde Diao, and the manager will hope this game sparks the pair into scoring goals, which has not worked lately.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Turati; Izzo, Brorsson, Palacios; Pereira, Urbanski, Bianco, Zeroli, Kyriakopoulos; Ganvoula, Balde
Key Stats
- Inter Milan are unbeaten in their last four games across all competitions.
- Inter Milan are vying to post consecutive four home wins for the first time in a year.
- Monza are winless in their last seven matches in Serie A
- Monza have lost six of their last seven games in Serie A.
- Monza have failed to score in five of their last seven matches in Serie A.
Player to Watch
Lautaro Martinez
The midweek performance from Inter Milan’s skipper will have instilled confidence in the striker, as he now faces a pivotal period in the season. The Nerazzurri struggled for relevance in the attack against Napoli, posting just a single shot on target in the entire game; many had come forward to criticise the captain.
Hosting bottom-placed AC Monza will be a good place for Martinez to build momentum, and Inter Milan will need him more than ever in this crucial part of the Serie A season. With Simone Inzaghi likely to keep the skipper in the lineup and rest his top scorer, Marcus Thuram, this might be the game to add goals to his tally, as Martinez will be the player to watch for this clash.
Prediction
Inter Milan 3-0 AC Monza
AC Monza have failed to score in five of their last seven games, as they could add to this specific stat on Saturday at San Siro, when they face one of the defensively solid teams in Serie A. Alessandro Nesta will have a big task on his hands to keep the score to a respectable number, as Inter Milan have the attacking prowess to hurt them severely.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan will be the favourites to win this clash with a respectable scoreline; Simone Inzaghi will not want to repeat the situation the last time these teams met in Serie A. With momentum on their hands and the pressure to keep hold of the top spot, Inter Milan are expected to win this clash with a 3-0 margin and keep a clean sheet.
