Saturday’s Serie A action caps off with a lopsided encounter at Stadio Arechi as Salernitana and Inter lock horns in contrasting circumstances. Let’s look at our match preview for this contest.
Portuguese manager Paulo Sousa was the mastermind behind Salernitana’s successful survival battle last season after taking charge of the team in February. However, he’s already among the likeliest candidates to follow in the footsteps of Paolo Zanetti, who became the first Serie A head coach to be relieved of his duties a week ago.
Zanetti’s former club, Empoli, bounced back from a five-game losing streak ‘to nil’ at the start of the new league campaign against none other than Salernitana on Tuesday. Aurelio Andreazzoli’s side squeaked past Granata 1-0 in midweek Serie A action, making them one of only three teams to start this round without winning any of the first six matches.
After his stock fell on the back of Salernitana’s third six-game winless start in four top-flight campaigns, Sousa will hope history can repeat itself on Saturday. His men have won the seventh game in both previous seasons, but the task awaiting them this weekend couldn’t be more daunting.
Early Serie A pacesetters Inter travel to Salerno keen to make amends for a disappointing 2-1 home loss to Sassuolo on Wednesday. A shocking result at Giuseppe Meazza knocked Simone Inzaghi’s lads down from a perfect five-game league start to 2023/24. It could be a blessing in disguise, though.
Sassuolo gave Inter a harsh reality check, forcing them to keep their feet firmly on the ground. It’s now up to the visitors to prove it was only a one-off.
Match Preview
Salernitana
Goals have been at a premium for Salernitana since an action-packed 2-2 draw at Roma on the opening weekend. They’ve since drawn a blank in three of their five Serie A outings, scoring precisely once in the other two. But despite their unimpressive form in the front third, the hosts can still hope to stage an upset here.
Stadio Arechi has been Salernitana’s safe haven in 2023. They’ve gone unbeaten in nine of their last ten top-flight matches on home turf (W4, D5). That run includes April’s 1-1 draw against Inter, which saw Sousa’s strugglers halt a three-game losing Serie A streak against Nerazzurri. But it’s difficult to overlook their scoring woes in this fixture.
Before Antonio Candreva’s last-gasp equalizer in that stalemate, Salernitana had lost their three previous league meetings with Inter in the 21st century by an aggregate score of 12-0.
Player to Watch: Antonio Candreva
The veteran winger has rolled back the years. He has scored 50% of Salernitana’s goals this term (2/4), while his assist to Boulaye Dia salvaged a 1-1 draw against Udinese on matchday two.
Inter
After conceding just once in the first five Serie A rounds, Inter’s watertight backline was breached twice in the second as Sassuolo fought back from a halftime deficit to snatch an outstanding win at Meazza a few days ago. Given the visitors’ stellar defending record against Salernitana this millennium, Inzaghi can rest easy ahead of this trip.
On top of that, Inter have gone from strength to strength away from home, racking up six wins on their last seven Serie A travels (L1). They have emerged victorious in both league games outside Meazza this term, overcoming Cagliari and Empoli via a combined score of 3-0.
But after losing their first top-flight game in which they were ahead at halftime since February 2022, Inter would be wise not to take anything for granted.
Player to Watch: Lautaro Martinez
After tallying five goals in the first three Serie A rounds, Martinez has gone three consecutive league games without scoring. That shouldn’t faze the Argentine forward, as he’s been on the scoresheet five times in his four appearances against Salernitana.
Team News
Salernitana absentees Chukwubuikem Ikwuemesi and Lassana Coulibaly face a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines and will be unavailable for selection this weekend. On a more positive note, last season’s hero Dia could be in for only his second Serie A start this term.
On the other hand, Inter cannot call upon Marko Arnautovic, Stefano Sensi, and Davide Frattesi for this trip. But there’s a slim chance Juan Cuadrado could return to the fold after picking up an injury during September’s international break.
Salernitana vs Inter Potential Lineups
Salernitana (3-4-2-1): Guillermo Ochoa; Matteo Lovato, Norbert Gyomber, Lorenzo Pirola; Pasquale Mazzocchi, Agustin Martegani, Giulio Maggiore, Domagoj Bradaric; Grigoris Kastanos, Antonio Candreva; Boulaye Dia.
Inter (3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Matteo Darmian, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Alexis Sanchez, Lautaro Martinez.
Salernitana vs Inter Prediction
Despite experiencing another dreadful top-flight start, Salernitana are no pushovers by any stretch of the imagination. While this won’t be a walk in the park for Inter, we expect the visitors to rebound and consolidate their place at the top of the tree.
Prediction: Inter Win
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