Having just won their first Scudetto in eleven years, a euphoric Inter step onto the pitch at home to face a Sampdoria with little to play for anymore. Match today Saturday at 18:00 CET.
Claudio Ranieri has done an outstanding job at Sampdoria; so much so that under his tutelage Samp went from certain relegation contenders to having ensured safety with at least five games to spare.
Within a season and a half of the Ranieri era, Sampdoria have returned to being a mid-table staple and can dream of once again fighting for European spaces.
Inter also have little to play for any longer this season. With the title wrapped up four weeks early, the Serie A champions can start thinking about player rotation, fitness management and player preservation after what has been a grueling 18 or so months.
While Antonio Conte is expected to make some changes to the side, expect Inter to continue giving their all in the remaining league matches, honoring the competition and continuing to build and nurture the side’s newly found winning spirit.
Expect Inter to play with a more free-flowing style and expansive attacking type of football more akin to the tactics the Nerazzurri employed earlier in the year before moving to the more pragmatic and defensively composed football seen of late.
There can be little doubt that racking up points in matches after the league is won is no easy task, but these matches can present Inter with a near historic opportunity of heralding a new winning cycle with some spectacular points differentials ahead of their competitors.
Team News
Expect a lot of turnover here, with Antonio Conte giving some much needed rest to some players and some equally needed playing time to others. Andreaa Ranocchia, Roberto Gagliardini, Alexis Sanches and Ashley Young are all expected to start the match.
Probable Inter line-up (3-5-2): Handanovic (C); Bastoni, Ranocchia, Skriniar; Young, Gagliardini, Eriksen, Brozovic, Darmian; Sanchez, Lukaku.
Stats
Last Season: Inter 2 – 1 Sampdoria.
Last 10 Head to Head: Inter have a substantial lead over Samp in the head to head department with seven wins to the visitors’ three. There have been no draws between the two sides since October of 2015.
Keep An Eye On
Romelu Lukaku: Once again Big Rom has been the man to keep an eye on. Lukaku almost ended his short goal scoring drought last week against Crotone, but his goal was ruled out due to a marginal offside during the run up play. With the pressure of sealing the league win finally off, expect Lukaku to be able to express maximum Big Rom with more ease.
Officials
Referee: Giovanni Ayroldi.
Assistant referees: Ranghetti and Pagliardini.
Fourth Official: Paterna.
VAR: Orsato and Valeriani.
Prediction & Concluding Remarks
Prediction & scorers: Inter 3 – 0 Hellas; Lukaku, Lautaro and Hakimi to redeem themselves.
Concluding remarks: There is a genuine festive feeling in the Inter camp this week, and rightly so. Will this elation allow the Nerazzurri to play a freer form of football and express themselves fully, or will it lead to profligacy and lack of concentration.
