Tonight at 20.45 CET, Inter take on Torino at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. Managed by ex Inter coach Walter Mazzari, Torino find themselves in a bit of a sticky patch, having only won 1 of their last 5 matches, with 1 draw a 3 defeats. They are sitting in 11th place in the league and 5 points off of a relegation spot.
Inter remain in positive form, winning 4 of their last 5 matches and sit 2nd in the league and 1 point behind leaders Juventus. On paper this looks like a straightforward match for the Nerazzuri, and it normally has been. The last 20 meetings of these teams has saw Inter take the spoils 9 times and Torino with 4 victories themselves, the remaining 7 of course ended as draws.
Attack
So far Inter are keeping up with the goal scoring this year, sitting third highest in the league with 26 goals (avg 2.17) and third highest in xG as well averaging 2.02 per game. Lukaku still remains 2nd in the top scorers charts with 9 goals, averaging 110 minutes per goal.
Torino are 12th highest for goals scored, with a total of 15 (avg 1.25) and 12th in xG as well with an average of 1.29. It should come as no surprise to announce their top scorer so far is Andrea Belotti, with 7 goals, 1 assist and an avg 154 minutes per goal.
Defense
Defensively Inter are still fairly decent, numbers wise. They sit third best for goals conceded, behind Hellas and Juve, with a total of 12 (avg 1 per game) and on xG against, they are the best with an average of 0.95. Samir Handanovic has managed to keep 4 clean sheets which gets him ti joint 2nd best with his counterparts.
Torino are 10th best when it comes to thier defensive stats,. so far they have conceded 17 and are 3rd bottom with xG against averaging 1.9 per game. Their goalkeeper, Sirigu has kept 2 clean sheets so far.
Key Players
I think it is fair to say Nicolo Barella’s transition into life as an Inter player has been nothing short of brilliant. He continues to show his quality and always works hard for the team, so it will be vital that he performs to his best tonight to help his team get the result they need.
Andrea Belotti is by far Torino’s most important player. He is their captain and their main source of goals, so it only makes sense to single out this player as one to watch out for. Time and time again we have seen Belotti come up strong against bigger sides and don’t write him off for grabbing a goal or two tonight.
Summary
Overall this should be a comfortable game for Inter to win, based on the numbers, but these are the types of matches that are so important. We have seen title challengers slip up against smaller sides like Torino and it could be the difference of winning and losing the title, so if Inter are serious about challenging Juventus for the title this season, then this match is a must win.
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