Reigning Scudetto holders Inter continue their pre-season preparations on Friday with another low-profile friendly against second-tier Pisa. The Arena Garibaldi sets the stage for the first meeting between the sides in four years.
The last time the two teams clashed was in September 2020. The Nerazzurri thumped the perennial lower-league strugglers 7-0 in an off-season exhibition match. Another emphatic scoreline is on the cards, considering Inter’s scintillating form.
Seemingly determined to defend their Serie A crown in 2024/25, Simone Inzaghi’s men have enjoyed a stellar warm-up campaign thus far. Lugano, Pergolettese, and Las Palmas have fallen victim to Inter’s rip-roaring summer form.
In addition to winning all three friendlies, the back-to-back Supercoppa Italiana holders netted at least two goals on each occasion. Inter will likely enter the 2024 Super Cup as favorites to claim the title for the third season on the trot, a feat they’ve never achieved in history.
On the other hand, Pisa endured a woeful 2023/24 season. An underwhelming 13th-place finish in Serie A resulted in the sacking of former manager Alberto Aquilani. His replacement is another household name in Italian football.
After several disappointing episodes at Salernitana, Reggina, and Brescia, ex-Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi took charge of Pisa at the start of July. What better way to launch his managerial career in Tuscany than upsetting the odds against his familiar foes?
Downtrodden Hosts
Pisa stuttered toward the end of last season, going winless in five consecutive matches at the tail-end of Alberto Aquilani’s stint (D3, L2). The home side’s defensive woes saw them concede precisely two goals in four of those five games.
That’s a potentially ominous sign ahead of a mouth-watering clash against Inter. Not since a 1-0 home triumph against Ternana in early March have Pisa kept a clean sheet, failing to do so across their nine league outings afterward.
Pisa’s notorious issues at the back suggest Inzaghi’s free-scoring frontline could have a field day on Friday. It’s worth noting that Inter have bagged 6+ goals in two of their three encounters against Pisa since 1990.
High-Flying Champions
While waiting for standout performers Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez to rejoin the fold, Inzaghi has relied on marquee summer arrival Mehdi Taremi to shoulder the goalscoring burden. The former Porto talisman has racked up five goals in three appearances for the club.
Taremi’s first-half brace inspired Inter to a clear-cut 3-0 victory against La Liga outfit Las Palmas last week as the Algerian looks destined for success in the Nerazzurri shirt. Inter’s form in the early summer contrasts their showings from the backend of 2023/24.
Perhaps complacent after winning the title with several games to spare, Inter picked up just one win in four at the end of last season. But they seem to have got back on track. With exciting pre-season games against Al-Ittihad and Chelsea waiting in the wings, Inzaghi’s high-flyers will look to build momentum against Pisa.
Prediction
Even though Inter will likely take the field with an experimental line-up, Inzaghi’s men are odds-on to spoil Inzaghi’s touchline debut. With Taremi in red-hot form and Piotr Zielinski bidding to prove his worth in the new jersey, we expect the Nerazzurri to put Pisa to the sword.
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