Antonio Conte is preparing five changes to his Inter XI for Saturday’s game with Sampdoria, according to a report in the Italian media this evening.
As per Gazzetta.it, the Nerazzurri’s head coach is planning to rotate his side against Claudio Ranieri’s side and Roma (on Wednesday), before reverting to a full strength XI at Juventus next Saturday.
Andrea Ranocchia is expected to start in the centre of Inter’s three-man defence, while Danilo D’Ambrosio – despite not having 90 minutes in his legs – could give a rest to Milan Skriniar (who has started 33 games in a row) or Alessandro Bastoni.
Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young are in contention to start as well, while Conte could pick either Roberto Gagliardini or Matias Vecino to replace Nicolo Barella in midfield.
Darmian could start in the back three or as a wing-back, but in any case Achraf Hakimi and Ivan Perisic are both set to start on the bench.
Stefano Sensi is unlikely to start having been named in the starting XI at Crotone, while Arturo Vidal and Aleksandar Kolarov still aren’t ready to return from injury.
As far as Inter’s front two is concerned, Alexis Sanchez could displace either Romelu Lukaku or Lautaro Martinez up front, but the Milan-based publication said everything would be much clearer after training tomorrow.
Conte is looking to strike a balance between rewarding those who have played less and showing respect for Inter’s remaining opponents.
