Inter travel to Turin this Sunday 8th November 2015 to face injury ravaged Torino at the Stadio Olimpico (kick off 12:30 CET).
Inter come into this game after arguably their best team performance of the season in a hard fought 1-0 win against title contenders Roma last weekend.
Personally when I saw Inter’s starting line up before the Roma game I was speechless, with Danilo D’Ambrosio starting for the first time this season at right back and Yuto Nagatomo starting at left back with captain Mauro Icardi dropped to the bench but Roberto Mancini certainly showed that he had a master plan to deal with Roma’s attack and it worked with Inter strong in defence and looking far more dangerous on attacks.
That win against Roma saw Inter leapfrog the Giallorossi into first place in the Serie A table joint with Fiorentina on 24 points.
Torino come into this game on the back of an unlucky last minute Turin derby defeat away at Juventus 2-1 last weekend which now sees the Granata winless in their last five games after draws against Genoa (3-3) and AC Milan (1-1), with losses against Lazio (3-0) and new boys Carpi (2-1).
The season had started well for Torino initially with four wins in their first six matches against Frosinone (1-2), Fiorentina (3-1), Sampdoria (2-0) and Palermo (2-1) adding to a draw against Hellas Verona (2-2) and a loss against Chievo (1-0) but injuries have started to play their part recently with no less than seven players unavailable for the game against Inter which sees the Granata sit in 11th place in Serie A level with rivals Juventus on 15 points.
Here is the Inter team news and probable line up as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport:
Samir Handanovic starts in goal after another stunning performance against Roma last week.
At right back Danilo D’Ambrosio is expected to keep his place after his seasonal debut last week with the central defensive partnership of Joao Miranda and Jeison Murillo also expected to remain. At left back Alex Telles is set to start ahead of Yuto Nagatomo and Juan Jesus.
In the holding midfield positions Felipe Melo is back after suspension and is expected to replace the suspended Fredy Guarin, alongside last week’s match winner Gary Medel who should start despite picking up a back injury against Roma.
On the wings Ivan Perisic is expected to keep his place on the left with one of Marcelo Brozovic or Adem Ljajic on the right.
In the trequartista position Stevan Jovetic is expected to start behind frontman and captain Mauro Icardi who is expected to return after being benched last weekend.
Probable Inter line up (subject to change): (4-2-3-1) Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Murillo, Telles; Melo Medel; Ljajic, Jovetic, Perisic; Icardi (C)
Bench: Carrizo, Berni, Juan Jesus, Montoya, Santon, Ranocchia, Nagatomo, Kondogbia, Gnoukouri, Brozovic, Palacio, Biabiany, Manaj
Some Stats:
Torino are unbeaten in their last 7 matches at home in Serie A while Inter are unbeaten in their last 5 matches away in Serie A.
Inter and Torino have faced each other in Turin 84 times in Serie A with Torino narrowly leading the stats with 30 wins to Inter’s 29 wins with 25 matches drawn.
In the overall records in Serie A (home and away) Inter lead the stats with 70 wins to Torino’s 46 wins with 52 of the 168 matches drawn.
In last season’s corresponding fixture in Turin on the 31st August 2014 the game finished in a 0-0 stalemate.
Inter’s last win in Turin against Torino in Serie A came on the 16th September 2012 in a 0-2 win thanks to goals from Diego Milito and Antonio Cassano.
Player to Watch: Mauro Icardi – With Torino having a number of players injured in defence this could be a good opportunity for the Argentine to start scoring again but he must get service from his team mates.
My Prediction: Torino 0-2 Inter
Scorers: Icardi, Jovetic
Officials: Referee: Massimiliano Irrati Assistants: Crispo, Musolino
Fourth Official: Ranghetti Additional Assistants: Damato, Doveri
Author’s Note: It’s hard to know what Inter team will start against Torino after last weekend’s surprise line up against Roma, with the players who started that game putting in a great performance. For this game Torino are struggling with injuries and suspension particularly in defensive positions so I believe we can score more than one goal in this game to shut up the critics who have started to point fingers at Inter’s attack.
Forza Inter!
