While the sky may seem like it’s falling in Nerazzuri-land, it looks like most teams around them are suffering as much, now a victory against visiting Torino will see Inter occupy second place. Match tonight Monday at 21:45 CET.
Inter’s ability to lose points from winning positions was on full display last Thursday when they managed to squander a hard-fought lead towards the end of the match. As with the Sassuolo and Bologna matches, had Inter managed to maintain their lead, they would have been sitting pretty in second place breathing down the backs of Juventus’s necks.
In the pre-match press conference, Antonio Conte spoke calmly of his side’s inability to close games and paying dearly for individual errors. While that may be the case, the coach hasn’t been entirely blameless himself. A reluctance to be flexible with tactical outlook and a now idiosyncratic lateness to use substitutions means that Conte must take his fare share of the blame too.
Marcelo Brozovic’s starting place might not be guaranteed, given an off the field incident over the weekend. But it seems that the Croatian is the only midfielder capable of interpreting Conte’s tactics and has been the keystone that makes the Inter engine tick, substituting him for Borja Valero will probably greatly imbalance the side.
Conte and his defensive team will have studied the goals conceded against Verona and Bologna, because those goals are emblematic of Inter’s goals conceded this season. Whether it’s a snatched shot from the edge of penalty box as with Bologna’s first goal or Verona’s second, or whether it’s the result of a wide fast counterattack, Inter’s conceded goals have almost all been typical of a few repeating mistakes.
Torino Coach Moreno Longo will know that every point counts in the race against relegation. He will also know that these are the best of times to face the hurting Nerazzurri. Longo will have studied Inter’s defensive lapses and will look to implement the same with attacking trident of Simone Edera, Simone Verdi and Andrea Belotti.
Conte must rebuild the side’s mentality from the back, ensuring that the team plays for the clean-sheet first, knowing that everything else will follow. Conte has once again been gifted an opportunity on a golden platter and must ensure that he and his men don’t squander it.
Team News
Conte will finally begin the match with his preferred starting defensive backline, with Alessandro Bastoni back from suspension. The big news out of Appiano is Marcelo Brozovic’s driving under the influence indiscretion. Much has been made in the media and whether the club will take punitive action against the Croatian midfielder, however, considering Conte’s injury crisis in the midfield, expect pragmatism to prevail.
Probable line-up (3-4-1-2): Handanovic (C); Bastoni, de Vrij, Skriniar; Young, Gagliardini, Brozovic, Candreva; Eriksen; Lautaro, Lukaku.
Stats
Last Season: Inter 2 – 2 Torino
Last 10 Head to Head: Inter hold a close but surprisingly inferior record to Torino, the visitors have beaten Inter four times to the hosts’ three victories. It is difficult to imagine, but Inter have not beaten Torino at the Meazza since October of 2016.
Keep an Eye on
Romelu Lukaku: Despite reports that he will be rested, it still seems likely that Lukaku will feature at some point. It’s in trying times that a person shows their mettle.
Lukaku has been a true leader since joining the Milanese side but now comes his turn to show Interisti that he is the right man to build the project around and the new face of the squad. Lukaku must help his teammates evolve and grow out of this crisis and manage to maintain their winning positions in matches.
Officials
Referee: Davide Massa.
Assistants: Di Iorio and Bottegoni.
Fourth Official: Minelli.
VAR: Nasca and Alassio.
Prediction & Concluding Remarks
Prediction & scorers: Inter 2-1 Torino. Lukaku to score a brace.
Concluding remarks: This will be a match of suffering. Torino will know that Inter are there for the taking and will do all in their powers to scalp their hosts.
However, as with the Parma match, expect the Nerazzurri to pull it off and start off the week in second place.