Inter Milanvs.Empoli

The Serie A champions could only trim Napoli's lead by one point on Wednesday, as a potential three-horse Scudetto race continues to take shape.

Match preview

Seeking a seventh straight league win, Inter played host to Bologna earlier this week, when victory would have taken them within a point of the Serie A summit.

Though they fell behind to an early Santiago Castro strike, the Nerazzurri were in front just before half time, as Denzel Dumfries continued his recent purple patch by scoring from close range before Lautaro Martinez fired home in the first minute of stoppage time.

Bologna struck back, though, and a 2-2 draw ultimately left Italy's reigning champions three points adrift of their immediate predecessors - and current league leaders - Napoli; albeit, Inter still have one game in hand.

Simone Inzaghi's side have now conceded 12 times at home in Serie A this season, which is already one more than in the whole of last term, with a series of defensive injuries surely playing a part.

Nevertheless, they are still very much in the title race - alongside Napoli and Lombardy rivals Atalanta BC - and could yet claim trophies in both the Champions League and Coppa Italia.

Coming into Sunday's clash, they have found the net at least once in their last 32 league fixtures at San Siro, and Inzaghi will expect that trend to continue against one of Inter's favourite opponents: they have won all but one of their last 14 league meetings with Empoli.

By contrast, Empoli are set to visit a club they have lost the most games to (26 of 33) and conceded the most goals against (69) in their Serie A history.

As if that were not enough cause for concern, the Tuscan side have recently lost five of their last seven league games - as many defeats as they suffered throughout the previous 19.

Last week's 3-1 loss to fellow strugglers Lecce was a bitter pill to swallow, as their dismal home record continued despite hosting one of the few teams below them in the top-flight standings.

Trailing by two goals after just 11 minutes at Stadio Castellani, Davide Nicola's men were unable to reverse that deficit: though Liberato Cacace's second-half strike offered some hope, Nikola Krstovic finally killed them off in stoppage time.

That result left them only two points clear of the drop zone, with a bright start to Nicola's reign fading into distant memory.

Before tackling Juventus in next month's Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Empoli must meet Inter, Juve, AC Milan and Atalanta in Serie A, so things may get worse before they get any better.

Inter Milan Serie A form:

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Inter Milan form (all competitions):

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Empoli Serie A form:

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Team News

Simone Inzaghi will welcome back Henrikh Mkhitaryan this weekend, while fellow veteran Francesco Acerbi could return from a long injury layoff in time to make the bench.

However, Inter are still missing Yann Bisseck, Hakan Calhanoglu and Joaquin Correa with thigh injuries, and wantaway midfielder Davide Frattesi has been training individually due to a muscular issue.

The hosts may rotate their squad between a midweek contest and Wednesday's Champions League trip to Prague, but captain Lautaro Martinez is still set to start up front. Inconsistent this season, 'El Toro' will aim to score in consecutive league games at San Siro for the first time since last February.

Meanwhile, Empoli's attack is led by Milan loanee Lorenzo Colombo and Inter-owned forward Sebastiano Esposito, the latter of whom made seven Serie A appearances for the Nerazzurri in the 2019-20 campaign, becoming the second-youngest scorer in club history.

This term, Esposito has notched the joint-most goals in away matches - six, level with Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui - so should be full of confidence for his return to Italy's second city.

Devis Vasquez could return between the posts after his surprise exclusion against Lecce, but Tino Anjorin and Ola Solbakken both join long-term absentees Pietro Pellegri, Nicolas Haas, Saba Sazonov and Tyronne Ebuehi on the sidelines.

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Augusto; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram

Empoli possible starting lineup:

Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti; Gyasi, Henderson, Grassi, Cacace, Pezzella; Esposito; Colombo

We say: Inter Milan 3-0 Empoli

In 16 previous top-tier meetings at San Siro, these sides have never before produced a draw, with 14 wins for Inter and two for their Tuscan counterparts.

Written by

Jonathan O'Shea

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