With two wins in a row in all competitions, Inter seem to have washed away the Juve loss malaise and now look to string another victory against Parma. Match on Saturday at 18:00 CET

Antonio Conte’s Nerazzurri have managed to put in a pair of impressive victories within three days, getting their return from the complicated international break off on the right foot. And while amid both victories Inter showed some vulnerability, one gets the feeling that the shakiness that might have crept into the players’ minds after the Juventus loss have all been eliminated.

Roberto D’Aversa’s Parma have been one of the more impressive surprises of the early season so far. The Crociati have looked extremely dangerous when going forward, and their thirteen goals scored so far put them among the top five attacks in the league. That said, Parma will miss the services of attacking talisman Roberto Inglese and potentially his understudy the impressive young Dane Andreas Cornelius.

This means that D’Aversa will probably utilize Inter loanee Yann Karamoh in attack. The young Frenchman along with veteran Gervinho will inject plenty of pace in the visitors’ attack as along with Dejan Kulusevski, a bright Swedish prospect with two goals to his name already.

Inter on the other hand will line-up with Conte’s usual 3-5-2 formation, hoping to close out the match with minimal effort and casualties. Inter is in the middle of another difficult run of matches where the side will play at least twice a week. Conte’s ability to regularly lean onto his entire squad for rotation is extremely important in ensuring the squad is fit to face the oncoming challenges. Expect the young Alessandro Bastoni to fill in for veteran Diego Godin in the center of defense and Cristian Biraghi to start ahead of Kwadwo Asamoah on the left flank. Should Inter manage to take an early commanding lead, one can almost guarantee that Matteo Politano will come on for one of either Lautaro Martinez or Romelu Lukaku.

Team News

With D’Ambrosio out due to his continuing injury, expect the impressive Candreva to move into the right flank. It will be interesting to see if Conte will utilize Valentin Lazaro should Inter run away with the match, just to help the Austrian winger regain some confidence after his abysmal showing against Sassuolo last week. Stefano Sensi’s condition will be assessed closer to the match, but one should not expect him to make a starting appearance even if he passes his fitness tests.

Probable line-up (3-5-2): Handanovic (C); Bastoni, DiVrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Barella, Brozovic, Gagliardini, Biraghi; Lukaku, Lautaro.

Stats

Last Season: Inter  0 – 1 Parma

Last 10 Head to Head: Matches between both sides could not be more evenly matched. Both sides have four wins each in the last ten direct encounters.

Keep an Eye on

Romelu Lukaku: The big Belgian was less than impressive against Dortmund midweek, and seeing that he’s his own harshest critic, one can expect him to want to put in a strong performance in the weekend. Lukaku plays best when he’s able to find space to accelerate to his top speed, bullying opposing defenders with his physique.

Officials

Referee: Daniele Chiffi.

Assistants: Schenone and Baccini.

Fourth Official: Mariani.

VAR Assistants: Calvarese and DeMeo.

Prediction & Concluding Remarks 

Prediction & scorers: Inter 3-1 Parma with Lukaku, Politano and Barella scoring

Concluding remarks: Parma play some of the most appealing football in the Serie A , expect them to trouble Inter especially when on a fast break. That said, with the confidence of two consectuvie victories, and the knowledge that league points cannot be dropped, expect Inter to comfortably take away all three points.