Sunday’s Serie A action gets underway at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza as top-four hopefuls Inter take on mid-table Salernitana. Though the sides have opposing goals set for the season, this could still be a tricky affair for the more heavily fancied hosts.
Inter came picked themselves up from a 1-0 halftime deficit to almost beat Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday. But despite taking the lead twice in the second half, Simone Inzaghi’s side eventually had to settle for an eye-catching 3-3 draw in a second-place Champions League Group C six-pointer.
With three points separating the teams ahead of the final two matchdays, last season’s Serie A runners-up may have put one foot in the Champions League knock-outs for the second year running. Back to domestic proceedings in high spirits, Inter have substantial ground on top-placed Napoli to cover, so there’s no time to celebrate their Camp Nou heroics.
No strangers to pulling off upsets themselves, Salernitana will take the field on the back of a late 2-1 home triumph over relegation strugglers Hellas Verona. Davide Nicola’s men already clutched points away from Inter’s fierce rivals Juventus earlier this season, eking out a 2-2 stalemate in Turin in early September.
After taking their Serie A survival battle to the final weekend last term, Salernitana will be looking to get the job done earlier in the season. Since they’re currently 11th in the table, five points clear of the drop zone, it’s fair to say Nicola’s lads are on the right path. But they still head into this fixture as massive pre-match outsiders.
Match Preview
Inter
Following back-to-back league defeats to Udinese and Roma, both of which saw them score the opening goal, Inter squeezed past Sassuolo at Mapei last weekend. Goals from Edin Dzeko on either side of halftime handed Inzaghi’s team an all-important 2-1 win in Emilia-Romagna, helping them stay within touching distance of the top four.
With fourth-placed Udinese harboring a five-point lead over Inter ahead of this round, the Nerazzurri can ill-afford a slip-up against Salernitana. Having managed four victories and two defeats across their six previous Serie A encounters against the Campani, they should be confident about winning consecutive league games for the second time this season.
Spanning across multiple seasons, Inter haven’t drawn any of their last 18 Serie A outings and could make it 19 in a row for the first time since the early 1950s. But Inzaghi will urge his side to show more composure and quality after the break, having seen them concede a league joint-high ten second-half goals this term.
Salernitana
Don’t let Salernitana’s paltry record of two wins from the opening nine Serie A rounds confuse you (D4, L3). The visitors can be a nuisance on their day. Even though they’ve won none of their four away league matches this season, three draws and just one defeat shows they are not willing to go down without a fight.
It’s worth mentioning that Salernitana have scored the most goals in Serie A in 2022/23 without netting any from outside the box (12). That illustrates how much this team has improved under Nicola’s stewardship. However, consistency has been a genuine issue for the Granata, as they’ve yet to win two Serie A games on the spin this season.
And if football does follow the script, Salernitana could be staring down the barrel of a third successive Serie A loss at the hands of Inter. Ominously for the visiting side, they lost both last season’s league showdowns against the Nerazzurri via an identical 5-0 scoreline. Marquee signing Boulaye Dia could change his men’s H2H fortunes after netting four Serie A goals this season.
Inter vs Salernitana Potential Line-ups
Inter (3-5-2): Andre Onana; Milan Skriniar, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Kristjan Asllani, Hakan Calhanoglu, Robin Gosens; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko.
Salernitana (3-5-2): Luigi Sepe; Norbert Gyomber, Flavius Daniliuc, Lorenzo Pirola; Antonio Candreva, Grigoris Kastanos, Lassana Coulibaly, Tonny Vilhena, Domagoj Bradaric; Boulaye Dia, Krzysztof Piatek.