After the disappointing draw against Parma on Saturday, the Nerazzurri hope to get all three points against Brescia, maintaining their Juventus chase at one single point. Match on Wednesday at 21:00 CET
It is a bit ironic that between the three newly promoted sides, Brescia has always been regarded as the one with the highest potential and probability to remain in the Serie A yet they now sit in eighteenth place, the lowest among their promoted colleagues. Despite lots of decent play and performances, the often romanticized team from Lombardy simply have been unable to get the results to show for all their decent play.
Coach Eugenio Corini led his side to promotion by finishing top of the Serie B last season, and having reinforced well over the summer, one cannot but feel weary at the prospect of facing his side. In Sandro Tonali, Brescia possess one of the league’s most promising midfield talents and the young Italian has lit up his side’s highlights with all sorts of tricks, flicks goals and assists. Brescia also have on their roster the veteran striker and last season’s Serie B top scorer Alfredo Donnarumma and have reinforced their attack with the infamous Mario Balotelli.
After Inter’s Saturday draw against Parma, Antonio Conte declared in no uncertain terms his side’s need for reinforcements, especially in the midfield. It is clear for all to see that Inter’s midfield has suffered greatly from Stefano Sensi’s absence due to injury, and now that Marcelo Brozovic’s fitness is suffering from the taxing schedule Inter seem unable to implement Conte’s preferred high intensity tctics. Nicolo Barella has been doing his best to pick up the pieces, but the stand-in midfielders Roberto Gagliardini, Matias Vecino and Borja Valero seem to lack the quality to fill in the gaps.
Conte will try and play the same way his Nerazzurri started against Sassuolo ten days ago, attacking intensely and scoring quickly in the hope to put the game to bed and take their feet off the gas in the second half, hopefully without the mental lapse seen at the Mapei. Expect the formation to remain mostly unchanged from Saturday, but one can probably see Kwadwo Asamoah coming back in on the left flank.
The biggest challenge in this match is the players’ physical condition and their ability to put Conte’s plans into action. If Inter are able to implement their game, then there can be no doubt that they’ll come out on top.
Team News
With no respite from the recovery room, Conte has to contend with the continuing injuries to Alexis Sanchez, Stefano Sensi and Danilo D’Ambrosio.
Probable line-up (3-5-2): Handanovic (C); Godin, DiVrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Gagliardini, Brozovic, Barella, Asamoah; Lautaro, Lukaku.
Stats
Last Season: Not played, Brescia in Serie B
Last 10 Head to Head: Seeing that the last Serie A encounter between both sides was over eight and a half years ago, it is quite difficult to gain much meaningful insight when looking at the two sides’ head to head record. That said, Inter hold a dominant 6-1 record over their hosts.
Keep an Eye on
Marcelo Brozovic: Brozo was extremely poor against Parma. Since Sensi’s injury, the Croatian midfielder has found himself once again the sole bearer of the responsibility of coordinating all Nerazzurri attacks through the middle, and so, when he has an off day it is difficult for Inter to find the means to consistently build coherent attacks and passages of play. He will want to make amends for his less than stellar performance.
Officials
Referee: Michael Fabbri.
Assistants: Peretti and DiVuolo.
Fourth Official: Pasqua.
VAR Assistants: Aureliano and Schenone.
Prediction & Concluding Remarks
Prediction & scorers: Brescia 2-3 Inter with Tonali and Balotelli scoring for the hosts and Lukaku and Lautaro combining well to give Inter a hard-fought win.
Concluding remarks: Ex-Intersisti scoring against their former club is a truism that one can take to the bank, and so, expect Inter to concede more than one goal. However, expect Inter’s quality and Conte’s desire to prevail and to carry the team across the three points finish line.