pescara

Inter are back in Milan to face Pescara at the Meazza on Saturday night at 20:45 CET looking for the seventh straight win.

Stefano Pioli’s men are the current in-form side in the league, and with a potentially straightforward encounter against the Serie A’s bottom side on the cards, they look to push further forward in the table. In Pescara, the Nerazzurri face not only the league’s lowest side, but also a side that’s let in 12 goals in their last five encounters.
Inter, ahead of two tough games against Lazio in the Coppa Italia and Juventus in the league, will want to win this match with minimum effort expended. A business-like approach will be expected from the home side, trying to take the lead as soon as possible and not allow the visitors the chance to keep the Inter attackers at bay for long. If Inter manage to break down the Delfini’s defences early in the game, expect the game to open up and Inter to win by a wide margin. As usual, the biggest risk in such encounters is overconfidence and Pioli will want to make sure that his men maintain the same focus and desire as they did last week.

Team News

Cristian Ansaldi is suspended due to his sending off against Palermo, so Davide Santon or Yuto Nagatomo can be expected to deputize for the Argentinean full-back on the left flank. Joao Miranda is also one booking away from a suspension so Pioli might replace him with Gary Medel at the centre of defence in order not to risk the veteran Brazilian missing the following game against Juventus, this is assuming that Jeison Murillo recovers from his minor injury, as expected.

The in-form midfield will continue posing a puzzle for Pioli as for the first time in years, Inter possess a plethora of high quality midfielders. All signs point to Pioli reverting to a central duo of Geoffrey Kondogbia and Roberto Gagliardini with Joao Mario playing ahead of them, then again, Pioli might keep Kondogbia away from the pitch in order to avoid suspension due to any booking.
Probable Inter line-up (4-2-3-1): Handanovic; Santon, Medel, Murillo, D’Ambrosio; Kondogbia, Gagliardini; Perisic, Joao Mario, Candreva; Icardi (C).

Stats
Last Season: Not played, Pescara in Serie B
Last 3 Head to Head: Since Pescara’s last appearance in the top-flight, the two sides have met three times, with Inter winning all three encounters.

Player to Watch
Mauro Icardi – Maurito had a fairly muted performance against Palermo last week, expect the young assassin to be on the hunt of at least one goal here. Pescara shoddy defending will only aid Icardi’s quest in leading the capocannoniere table,

Officials
Referee: Gianpaolo Calvarese
Assistants: Carbone, Lo Cicero
Fourth Official: Preti
Additional Assistants: Guida, Abbattista

Prediction & Authors Note
Prediction & scorers: Inter 4-0 Pescara with Perisic, Candreva and an Icardi brace.
Author’s Note: In order to avoid complicating the fixture, Inter must push early on to get on the scoresheet, so expect the Nerazzurri to start the match in all-out attack mode.