Giuseppe Meazza is the venue as Inter and Spezia go head-to-head in what should be a straightforward task for last season’s Serie A runners-up. The home side head into proceedings as overwhelming favourites to snatch another victory despite a troublesome start to the season.
Inter came into their matchday-one fixture against newly-promoted Lecce as odds-on favourites to take home all three points. However, they needed Denzel Dumfries’ last-gasp winner to beat Marco Baroni’s team 2-1 and get the new season off to a strong start. But it wasn’t an impressive performance from the Nerazzurri by any stretch of the imagination.
Meanwhile, Spezia, who have had a busy recruitment campaign over the summer, eked out a 1-0 home triumph over Empoli on the opening weekend. Star striker M’Bala Nzola notched up a first-half winner to fire his side to a morale-boosting victory at the start of the new Serie A season.
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Inter
Romelu Lukaku found the back of the net only two minutes into his second Inter debut after returning to the club on a season-long loan from Chelsea. His ‘partner in crime,’ Lautaro Martinez, failed to get on the scoresheet, but his three-assist haul against Spezia suggests he could be decisive if he doesn’t score.
Saturday’s encounter should be a walk in the park for Inter. Simone Inzaghi’s men are unbeaten across all six matches against Spezia in Serie A and Coppa Italia (W5, D1), winning both league clashes last season by a two-goal margin. It gets better. The Nerazzurri are enjoying a stellar run of 17 wins from 18 Serie A games against Ligurian sides (L1).
Additionally, Inter have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three top-flight meetings with Ligurian opponents. If that’s not enough to fill them with confidence, they won four consecutive Serie A home matches down the final stretch of last season, netting an eye-catching average of three goals per match in that sequence.
Spezia
The new season offers a new beginning to Spezia. Led by former head coach Thiago Motta, they avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2021/22, eventually finishing six points clear of the drop zone. However, an abysmal 16th-place finish saw the Aquilotti part company with the former Inter midfielder over the summer.
It’s now up to new manager Luca Gotti to turn Spezia’s fortunes around. The abovementioned win over Empoli on his touchline debut is a promising sign as he looks to improve his image after being sacked by Udinese in December 2021. After a short-term absence from the realm of management, Gotti is back in the dugout.
But he now faces a formidable task to help Spezia arrest a two-game winless Serie A record at Meazza. There’s a good starting point. After suffering five consecutive top-flight visits to Lombard sides, the Bianchi pulled off a sensational 2-1 victory over eventual champions Milan on their most recent Serie A trip to Meazza.
Team News
Inter boss Inzaghi is still sweating over Danilo D’Ambrosio’s fitness, while out-of-favour full-back Dalbert is a definite absentee in the home team.
As for Spezia, Gotti won’t be able to call upon the services of Salva Ferrer and Janis Antiste, with French right-back Kelvin Amian’s availability still up in the air.
Inter vs Spezia Potential Line-ups
Inter (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic, Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni, Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Kristjan Asllani, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Robin Gosens, Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez.
Spezia (3-5-2): Bartlomiej Dragowski, Mattia Caldara, Jakub Kiwior, Dimitrios Nikolaou, Emmanuel Gyasi, Kevin Agudelo, Mikael Egill Ellertsson, Mehdi Bourabia, Arkadiusz Reca, Daniele Verde, M’Bala Nzola.