Inter’s highly anticipated season starts in front of a near-packed Meazza against the returning Lecce . Match on Monday at 20:45 CET.
Antonio Conte’s much hyped and anticipated competitive debut on the Inter bench begins with what appears to be a straightforward encounter against newly promoted Lecce.
Throughout the preseason, fans have seen Conte’s mark on the team in almost all friendly encounters. Conte’s traditional deployment of flying wing-backs, his sides’ high intensity pressing mid-fields and clear vision for an on-pitch identity have been on show.
Despite Inter’s mercato seemingly still unfinished, Inter’s midfield module of Marcelo Brozovic and the diminutive duo of Stefano Sensi and Nicolo Barella have been very impressive, with Sensi being a bit of a mid-summer revelation. There are rumors that Matias Vecino might be picked over Barella, but in all cases, the midfield’s functions seem clearly defined; Brozovic will focus on distribution, Sensi will be expected to show up more frequently in the final third while the third player will be tasked with doing everything else, from providing defensive cover, to contributing to Nerazzurri attacks consistently.
With all eyes on Romelu Lukaku, perhaps it will give his attacking partner Lautaro Martinez the breathing space to find his form and continue his development. It is clear that Lautaro is a natural second striker who has struggled when deployed as the sole attacker sitting in front of an attacking trio last season.
Lecce raised eyebrows with some strong performances in Serie B last season, but one might be forgiven to think that this match is a little too much too soon for the returning Giallorossi. Coach Fabio Liverani has built his side to play attack forward football, and they built their successful promotion campaign on outscoring their opponents, it is difficult to see them imposing their will on Inter, away from home and on their first match back in the Serie A.
As usual, no team can ever assume a victory as a forgone conclusion, and the patch to footballing failure often starts with misplaced confidence, but Interisti hope that in Antonio Conte, they have a manager who will always bring out the best in his player regardless of the opponent.
Team News
Valentin Lazaro will probably be called up to the match squad, but the Austrian winger will most likely start his match on the bench. Diego Godin will miss the squad due to his continuing thigh strain and will hope to return to play next week. There are questions as to whether Nicolo Barella will start in the midfield or whether Matias Vecino will be chosen in his stead.
Probable line-up (3-5-2): Handanovic (C); D’Ambrosio, Di Vrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Vecino, Brozovic, Sensi, Asamoah; Lukaku, Lautaro.
Stats
Last Season: Not meetings as Lecce played in the Serie B.
Last 10 Head to Head: Seeing that it has been over 7 years since the two sides have last met, it is difficult to find much meaningful insight through this statistic. That said, in the previous ten league encounters between both sides, Inter have been victorious on seven occasions, with Lecce winning just once, which just so happens to be the last match between both sides.
Keep an Eye on
Romelu Lukaku: Big Rom has been Inter’s marquee signing over the summer and much is expected of the Belgian both on the pitch and in the dressing room. A home debut goal to kick off the season will be a great way to start his tenure.
Lukaku’s work ethic in training has already become the subject of many an Interisti’s admiration over the past few weeks, and if he’s able to showcase the fruits of his hard work in front of the home fans, he will surely win them over instantly.
Officials
Referee: Federico La Penna.
Assistants: Giallatini and Prenna.
Fourth Official: Volpi.
VAR Assistants: Aureliano and Fiorito.
Prediction & Concluding Remarks
Prediction & goalscorers: Inter 2 – 0 Lecce. A fairly comfortable, albeit unspectacular win with Lukaku and Sensi scoring.
Concluding remarks:
If Inter are to mount a serious challenge for any silverware this season, it is in exactly matches similar to this one where they let themselves down in previously and must now accept nothing but a win.
To see glimpses of improvement over the past Inters, Interisti need to see consistent output over the full match duration, no frustration expressed by the players when the opponents defend constantly and decisive accuracy in front of goal.