Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Inter Milanvs.Torino

sportsmole.co.uk, 3 October 2024, 14:05
Locked together on 11 points in the Serie A standings, reigning champions Inter Milan and surprise package Torino clash at San Siro on Saturday evening.

While Inter have got back on track with consecutive wins, Toro were recently toppled from top spot, soon after exiting the Coppa Italia.

Match preview

Having failed to win in three matches before last week's 3-2 victory over Udinese, an improving Inter side continued to build momentum on Tuesday night, when they swept aside Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

Following the Nerazzurri's late loss to AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, captain Lautaro Martinez first ended a goalless run of five league games to help claim maximum points in Udine, then appeared from the bench to score in a 4-0 win over the Serbian champions.

In Europe's top club competition, Inter are now unbeaten in 10 home matches - and that represents their best such run since beating Bayern Munich in the 2010 final - but they still trail Serie A leaders Napoli in the domestic standings.

While they are yet to concede a Champions League goal, Simone Inzaghi's men have shipped two in both of their last two league matches, and they have already conceded multiple goals three times this term - more than throughout the entire first half of the 2023-24 campaign.

En route to the title, Inter ran a tight ship defensively and were ruthless in attack, so Inzaghi will want to rediscover that mentality sooner rather than later, with predecessor Antonio Conte throwing down an early challenge with his new-look Napoli side.

After that loss to Milan ended a 17-game unbeaten run at home in Serie A, the current Inter coach is now intent on starting a new streak by beating Conte's former sidekick.

Paolo Vanoli played a part in Inter's 2021 Scudetto win as an assistant, but now he occupies the top job at Torino after leading Venezia to the top flight last term.

Under his watch, Toro have won three of their opening six Serie A matches and can now try to win four from seven for the first time since 2015.

Last month, a 3-2 away victory over Hellas Verona briefly put them top of the table, capping a fine start to Vanoli's time in Turin; but just a few days later they were turfed out of the cup by Empoli, then beaten at home in the league.

Lazio led by two goals before Che Adams pulled one back last weekend, but the Biancocelesti then struck again, meaning Saul Coco's stoppage-time strike was effectively a consolation.

Nonetheless, Torino are still undefeated on the road this season, which would surely be cause for optimism if they had not lost all of their last five games against Inter at San Siro.

Inter Milan Serie A form:

D

W

W

D

L

W

Inter Milan form (all competitions):

W

D

D

L

W

W

Torino Serie A form:

D

W

W

D

W

L

Torino form (all competitions):

W

W

D

W

L

L

Team News

Midfield maestro Nicolo Barella will again be missing from Inter's XI this weekend, as a thigh injury sustained in last month's derby defeat will keep the Italy star sidelined until after the international break.

Either Piotr Zielinski or Davide Frattesi will deputise in the hosts' engine room, while Simone Inzaghi is set to rotate his resources up front.

Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic were paired on Tuesday, but first-choice duo Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez may be back in the lineup against Torino.

The latter may have recently ended a Serie A goal drought, but he has not scored at home in the Italian top flight since February, going seven league games without scoring since - his second-worst streak to date.

Meanwhile, the man tasked with stopping Inter's attack should be Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who is expected to recover after missing Torino's 3-2 defeat to Lazio with a knee injury. According to xG data, the Serbian goalkeeper has prevented more goals than anyone else across Europe's top five leagues this season.

That would leave Perr Schuurs (ACL) as the visitors' only significant absentee, giving Paolo Vanoli an almost full squad to choose from.

Once again, Antonio Sanabria and Che Adams will vie to partner Toro captain Duvan Zapata up front, while Croatian forward Nikola Vlasic is set for a place on the bench.

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

Torino possible starting lineup:

Milinkovic-Savic; Vojvoda, Coco, Masina; Lazaro, Ilic, Tameze, Ricci, Sosa; Sanabria, Zapata

We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Torino

Torino have lost their last four Serie A games against Inter without scoring a single goal, but their form this season suggests they can at least improve on that grim trend.

The champions have started their title defence unconvincingly, but Toro are beginning to leak goals and could be caught out on more than one occasion.

Previews by email

Top News

14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Kazakhstan vs. Austria (Thursday, 3.00pm) Amid a three-way battle for promotion from League B Group 3, Austria aim to improve their prospects with a win on Thursday, when they meet Kazakhstan in the UEFA Nations League. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Athletico Paranaense can temporarily climb out of the Brasileiro Serie A relegation zone with a victory over Atletico Mineiro on Saturday at Arena de Baixada. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England interim manager Lee Carsley has played down Harry Kane's strong words about the withdrawal of many of his teammates, insisting he is looking forward to working with other players who also deserve a chance. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly fearful that Lisandro Martinez could spend an extended spell on the sidelines with the hip injury that has forced him to withdraw from Argentina duty. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sporting Lisbon wing-back Maximiliano Araujo has hinted that he hopes to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in the near future. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Morocco will be looking to maintain their 100% record in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they visit the Stade de Franceville to take on Gabon on Friday. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk San Marino will hope to leapfrog Gibraltar and prevent them from earning promotion from their UEFA Nations League D group when they welcome them to Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle on Friday. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk In their fifth UEFA Nations League C match of 2024-25, Northern Ireland are set to host Belarus on Friday at Windsor Park, with victory enough to guarantee a place in the top two. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Zimbabwe will be hoping to book their place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations when they face Kenya on matchday five of qualifying this Friday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United could reportedly move for Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite and Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez during next summer's transfer window. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool should arguably be considered favourites for Premier League glory after they took charge of the title race last weekend when they beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield and moved five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Burnley could reportedly offer Ruud van Nistelrooy the chance to make a swift return to English football, with the Clarets interested in bringing him in as their new manager. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Cristiano Ronaldo is set to lead Portugal out in Porto when they face Poland in the UEFA Nations League on Friday night. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England captain Harry Kane has expressed his disappointment at the number of players to have withdrawn from the Three Lions squad for their UEFA Nations League fixtures with Greece and Republic of Ireland. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi has been handed a call-up to the Spain squad for the national team's November international fixtures against Denmark and Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid youngster Marc Cucalon has been forced to retire from professional football at the age of 19 due to a serious knee injury which he suffered in the latter stages of 2022. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have revealed that Ansu Fati has been ruled out for around four weeks with a hamstring injury. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is facing a crisis at centre-back ahead of their UEFA Nations League clash with Poland in Porto on Friday night. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Portugal welcome Poland to Porto on matchday five of the UEFA Nations League on Friday night. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has said that it is "the right moment" for Ruben Amorim to arrive at Old Trafford, claiming that the Portuguese "did something very special" at Sporting Lisbon. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal defender Ben White has apparently gone under the knife to treat a joint issue in his knee, which will sideline the Englishman for around two months. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have reportedly identified Al-Nassr centre-back Aymeric Laporte and Tottenham Hotspur right-back Pedro Porro as two of their top defensive targets for 2025. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly among three Premier League clubs interested in FC Nordsjaelland full-back Daniel Svensson. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly among three Premier League clubs interested in FC Nordsjaelland full-back Daniel Svensson. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Botswana will host Mauritania in their penultimate 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Francistown Stadium on Friday. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia has provided a positive injury update ahead of potentially representing Belgium. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Scotland's stay in the UEFA Nations League's top tier could be brought to its end on Friday, when they face an almost must-win game against League A Group 1 rivals Croatia. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Lamine Yamal is among a number of absentees for Spain, as the national side conclude their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group-stage campaign with fixtures against Denmark and Switzerland. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Spain will be bidding to secure top spot in Group 4 of League A in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League when they head to Denmark on Friday evening for what is shaping up to be an intriguing affair. 13 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Brighton & Hove Albion forward Danny Welbeck has claimed that speculation regarding a potential return to Manchester United is "irrelevant".