A midweek derby win wiped out last week’s disappointment against Udinese, now Inter host minnows Benevento and will try to build some momentum again. Match today on Saturday at 20:45 CET.

Antonio Conte has seemingly finally settled on his preferred starting formation. However, despite the tactical stability, Inter have struggled to score against sides who sit back deep and look to do little else but frustrate their opponents.

As Conte prepares to host Benevento, a side with an admittedly weaker defensive record than Udinese, he will replay the previous match over and again to try and find comprehensive solutions to breakdown the visitors’ expected deep defending.

Inter cannot rely on individual moments of brilliance from Achraf Hakimi, Romelu Lukaku or Marcelo Brozovic to find the breakthrough. Seeing how the first 30 to 45 minutes of the match go, Conte might have to deploy Stefano Sensi or Christian Eriksen earlier than usual to spark some creative brilliance in the side.

Pippo Inzaghi’s Benevento are not without their threats. In Gianluca Caprari and Gianluca Lapadula, the Witches have a couple of proven Serie A strikers who can find the back of the net against anyone.

This match will, yet again, be a test of Inter’s winning mentality and desire rather than of their tactical and technical nous. If Inter really want to win the Scudetto this year, it is in matches such as this one where they absolutely must win.
Team News

While the Inter treatment room is finally cleared of all long-term injuries (except for D’Ambrosio who’s still on the mend), the threat to the squad’s completeness at the moment appears to come in the shape of potential suspensions.

All of Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella and Marcelo Brozovic are one yellow card away from suspension. Expect at least one of the trio to “intentionally” pick up a card during the match in order to ensure their presence in the derby coming up in two match-days.

Probable Inter line-up (3-5-2): Handanovic (C); Bastoni, De Vrij, Skriniar; Young, Barella, Vidal, Brozovic, Hakimi; Lautaro, Lukaku.

Stats

Last Season: Not played, Benevento in Serie B.

Last 10 Head to Head: The two sides have just met three times in the Serie A. Inter have won all three matches.

Keep An Eye On

Achraf Hakimi: The Moroccan wide-man has been the center of Inter’s attacking threats as of late, but had a pretty weak performance against Milan in the derby. Haki will want to put that performance behind him quickly and return to being the Nerazzurri’s impact performer.

Officials

Referee: Fabrizio Pasqua.
Assistants: Longo and Raspollini.
Fourth Official: Gariglio.
VAR: Calvarese and Galetto.

Prediction & Concluding Remarks

Prediction & scorers: Inter 4 – 1 Benevento with Lukaku and Lautaro wreaking havoc on the visitors.

Concluding remarks: Inter cannot repeat the mistake they made against Udinese after having had just beat Juventus; the Nerazzurri then failed to find the win in a match where they were highly favored, seemingly as a result of a post big-game win hangover.