Serie A Gameweek 25 kicks off on Friday as pacesetters Inter and rock-bottom Salernitana trade tackles at Giuseppe Meazza in contrasting moods. A ‘David vs Goliath’ clash in Lombardy has all the makings of a ‘one-sided’ affair as Nerazzurri bid to extend their lead at the table’s summit against the division’s basement boys.
Inter took full advantage of Juventus’ shock 1-0 home defeat to Udinese on Monday to go seven points clear at the top of Serie A with a stunning 4-2 comeback win against Roma last weekend. With a game in hand and momentum on their side, Simone Inzaghi’s team could be waltzing away with their first Scudetto since 2020/21 midway through the campaign.
Salernitana’s visit to Meazza is a dress rehearsal for their mouth-watering Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid. With that in mind, Inter shouldn’t take this encounter lightly, looking to uphold a 100% win ratio in home league matches against a downtrodden Salerno outfit (W4) and set themselves up nicely for upcoming European challenges.
In contrast to Inter’s purple patch, Salernitana’s quest to secure Serie A survival is hanging by a thread after a 3-1 home defeat to Empoli last time out left them stranded at the bottom of the standings. Seven points adrift of safety, the club decided it was time for underperforming manager Filippo Inzaghi to go.
His successor, Fabio Liverani, couldn’t have hoped for a sterner test on his touchline debut, with Salernitana making this daunting trip amidst a humiliating start to the new calendar year (D1, L6).
Match Preview
Inter
Buoyed by a seven-game winning streak in domestic action, Inter head into proceedings as odds-on favorites to complete another Serie A double over Salernitana after a 4-0 rout in the reverse fixture. Another thumping victory could be in store, as they’ve won both top-flight H2Hs they’ve hosted in the 21st century by 2+ goals ‘to nil.’
Triumphs accompanied by a clean sheet have been their trademark of late, with Inter racking up five Serie A home wins ‘to nil’ across their last six. Adding to this sentiment, Nerazzurri’s defensive might has been off the charts this term. They’ve conceded a league-low 12 goals without affecting their attacking proclivities.
As the only Serie A team to have hit a 50-goal threshold after 24 rounds, Inter are expected to pack a punch against the league’s second-worst defense.
Salernitana
With only Frosinone’s dreadful tally of 49 goals conceded worse to Salernitana’s 47, one of Liverani’s first assignments is to stem the bleeding at the back. But Inter are hardly an ideal opposition, considering the Granata have conceded 4+ goals in three of their five top-flight duels this century.
As the ominous-looking H2H record isn’t troubling enough, Salernitana’s wasteful run of seven defeats across their last ten Serie A travels (W1, L2) spells further trouble. If it’s any consolation, they held mid-table Torino to a scoreless draw in their most recent away league match, showing the defensive resilience they’ll need to avoid a catastrophe in Milan.
Among very few positives is Salernitana’s decent scoring run. They’ve got on the scoresheet in nine of their last ten league outings, though those were mostly consolation goals (W1, D2, L7).
Team News
In addition to long-term absentees Stefano Sensi and Juan Cuadrado, Inter will be without defensive stalwart Francesco Acerbi, who picked up a calf injury against Roma. But the rest of Inzaghi’s high-flying squad is fit and ready.
As for Salernitana, Norbert Gyomber, Lorenzo Pirola, and Federico Fazio are not in contention for the team, handing Liverani a substantial selection headache at the back. On top of that, Domagoj Bradaric serves a one-game ban for accumulated yellow cards.
Inter vs Salernitana Potential Lineups
Inter (3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro Martinez, Marko Arnautovic.
Salernitana (3-4-2-1): Guillermo Ochoa; Niccolo Pierozzi, Jerome Boatang, Kostas Manolas; Alessandro Zanoli, Giulio Maggiore, Toma Basic, Marco Pellegrino; Antonio Candreva, Grigoris Kastanos; Boulaye Dia.
Inter vs Salernitana Prediction
It takes no rocket science to back Inter for success in this match-up. However, we expect Salernitana to give their esteemed hosts a run for their money and avoid a humiliating defeat at least.
Prediction: Inter Win
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