An exciting encounter between top-four hopefuls Inter and mid-table Sassuolo at Giuseppe Meazza will drop the curtain on Saturday’s Serie A action. Confidence will be at the ultimate high in the home camp following another dream Champions League night.
Simone Inzaghi’s side scored twice within the opening 11 minutes of play to crush bitter city rivals Milan 2-0 in the first leg of their blockbuster semi-final tie on Wednesday. But despite taking complete control of their Champions League fate, Inter cannot afford to lower their guard, as there’s still plenty of work to be done in Serie A.
With only five points separating the teams from second to fifth, the fourth-placed Nerazzurri come into this matchday harboring a slender two-point lead over fifth-placed Milan. And since the Rossoneri head to Liguria to take on out-of-form Spezia, anything other than victory in this match-up could see Inter finish this round outside the Champions League placings.
On the other hand, visiting Sassuolo will, in all likelihood, have to settle for another mid-table finish, no matter the outcome at Meazza. Winless in their last two Serie A outings (D1, L1), Alessio Dionisi’s men commence this round two points adrift of 10th-placed Bologna, so a top-half finish remains a possibility for the Neroverdi.
That’s unlikely to be a powerful source of motivation for Sassuolo. But with nothing but pride left to play for, they will likely give Inter a run for their money, especially considering their recent exploits in Milan. In addition to toppling the Nerazzurri 2-0 in this corresponding fixture last season, they stunned Milan 5-2 at the San Siro earlier this year.
Given Sassuolo’s rich vein of form at one of the most iconic stadiums in Italy, Inter cannot rest easy ahead of this clash despite their noticeable resurgence in the past couple of weeks.
Match Preview
Inter
Since an underwhelming 1-0 home defeat to Serie A debutants Monza in mid-April, Inzaghi’s lads have gone into overdrive, racking up a four-match winning league streak, bookended by a 2-0 win at Roma last weekend. With Romelu Lukaku hitting his stride down the final stretch, goals are flowing around for the Nerazzurri again, as they netted at least two in each of those four wins, averaging 3.5 per game.
Interestingly, a draw has not been part of the equation in Inter’s home matches in Serie A this season. None of their 17 league outings at Meazza in 2022/23 have ended level (W12, L5). But it’s worth noting that three of those four losses came in the last four games, all of which yielded an identical 1-0 scoreline. That’s another reason Inzaghi has urged his side to maintain their focus as ‘important matches’ begin to dawn upon them.
Player to Watch: Romelu Lukaku
After starting Wednesday’s Derby della Madonnina on the bench, Lukaku, who has accrued three goals and as many assists in his last three Serie A appearances, should return to the starting lineup. The Belgian is making up for lost time when Inter need him the most.
Sassuolo
It seems the lure of a third top-half finish in four seasons isn’t strong enough to motivate Sassuolo properly, as witnessed by their sub-par run of two wins from their last seven league outings (D2, L3). Motivation alone may not be enough on Saturday as they bid to put an ominously-looking three-match losing away league streak to bed.
Dionisi’s men have scratched defensive resilience out of the equation, conceding 2+ goals on their last four Serie A travels. Another similar display could lead to an unwanted piece of history this weekend as Sassuolo stare down the barrel of capitulating at least twice in five consecutive away games for the first time in their Serie A history.
Player to Watch: Domenico Berardi
After an injury-plagued first half of the season, Berardi has hit the ground running in 2023. Alongside Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, he’s the only player to have racked up 5+ goals and 5+ assists in Europe’s top-five leagues this calendar year.
Team News
With Robin Gosens on the verge of recovery from a shoulder injury, Inter will only be without long-term absentees Dalbert and Milan Skriniar for this fixture. But given the importance of next week’s second-leg clash against Milan, it won’t be surprising if Inzaghi rotates his squad on Saturday.
His Sassuolo counterpart Dionisi doesn’t have such problems on his plate. In fact, the visiting manager can call upon his entire roster for this trip after Andrea Pinamonti and Nadir Zortea served red and yellow-card suspensions in a 1-1 draw against Bologna last time out.
Inter vs Sassuolo Potential Lineups
Inter (3-5-2): Andre Onana; Danilo D’Ambrosio, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Matteo Darmian, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico Dimarco; Joaquin Correa, Romelu Lukaku.
Sassuolo (4-3-3): Andrea Consigli; Jeremy Toljan, Gian Marco Ferrari, Martin Erlic, Rogerio; Davide Frattesi, Maxime Lopez, Matheus Henrique; Domenico Berardi, Andrea Pinamonti, Armand Lauriente.
Inter vs Sassuolo Prediction
Regardless of any potential lineup changes made by Simone Inzaghi, Sassuolo’s road record suggests that the home team should still expect a routine triumph. With Inter firing on all cylinders, there’s a feeling that there’s not much the struggling visiting defense could do.
Prediction: Inter Win
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