Tonight, Inter welcome Sampdoria to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milano’s San Siro district for the Match Day 25 of the Serie A, with kick-off scheduled at 20.45 CET.

Inter currently sit in 3rd position, 3 points behind league leaders Juventus, and one point behind second placed Lazio, who leapfrogged inter last week in their 2-1 victory over the Nerazzurri.

Tonight’s opponents Sampdoria sit low in the table at 17th position on 23 points, one point ahead of Genoa who are in the relegation zone in 18th. Previous meetings between these two clubs has historically seen Inter take the 3 points, with Sampdoria winning two matches back to back in 2016 and 2017.

Attack

Inter remain in 3rd place for the most goals scored this season on 49 goals, and Lukaku remains the clubs top scorer on 17 league goals. The Nerazzuri average 15 shots per match and around 40% of these hit the target, but interestingly, around 40% of these shots have also been taken outside the box.

A relatively low number, and shows Conte’s drive for his players to really work the ball into the opponents box before taking a shot on goal. Inter still remain top of the table for the most offside’s, averaging 2.5 per game, and Antonio Candreva remains the sides top provider with 5 assists this season.

Sampdoria are not as prolific as they were last year under Giampaolo, scoring 26 goals so far, they are joint 16 with Milan in this regard. Last seasons capocannoniere Quagliarella is the sides top scorer this season as well, but is way off last years tally with 7 goals to his name so far.

Sampdoria have the 9th most shots on goal this year, which is surprising given their low amount of goals, but can be explained with exactly 50% of these shots being taken outside the box and having an accuracy of 30% total.  The clubs top provider is Polish midfielder Karol Linetty with 3 assists for his side.

Defence

Inter are no longer the best defensive team in the Serie A as of now, as Lazio knocked them off top spot last week by scoring 2 against them. In total, Inter have conceded 22 goals, 5 of which came in three matches that back up goalkeeper Daniele Padelli played in cover of regular starter and club captain Samir Handanovic.

Marcelo Brozovic remains the best for Inter at defensive duels, and Stefan de Vrij remains the best interceptor, helped by him being in the middle of the 3 man defence.

Sampdoria have conceded the 5th most goals in the Serie A season, letting in 43 goals in 24 matches, almost matching their total goals conceded for the entire season last year (51). This could be explained by the fact Sampdoria don’t have any player in the Serie A top 30 for defensive duels, but defender Colley is the 9th highest for interceptions, and full back Thorsby is 22nd for aerial duels won defensively.

Key players

Inter have been having a bit of a rough spell at the moment, and one of the reasons why Inter have struggled a little is because the opposition has been marking Brozovic so tightly he has been effectively removed from the game.

Marcelo Brozovic is one of Inter’s most important players, and he is the main link when the side builds up play from the back.  Should Inter find a way to get Brozovic into the game more, then they stand a very good chance in obtaining all three points, and keep the pressure on rivals Juventus and Lazio.

Sampdoria are not a bad team by any means, and have many good players who can make a substantial difference in any match, and one such player is Gaston Ramirez. The Uruguayan forward is a creative outlet who is good at bringing the ball forward and finding team mates in goalscoring positions, and scoring himself. Ramirez has been a bit out of form and favour recently, and Sampdoria will need him at his best should they avoid relegation this season.

Summary

This is an important match for both sides, both for very different reasons.  Each end of the table will be impacted by tonight’s result and we should expect it to be a tough match for either side.  History favours the Nerazzuri for the win tonight, but realistically both sides can escape with all 3 points.

Inter can keep up with the pace of leaders Juventus, whereas Sampdoria can remain out of reach of Genoa in the race to avoid relegation. One thing is for sure, this match has typically provided some brilliant displays and we could very well be in for another tonight.

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