Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu has decided to start Lautaro Martínez and Francesco Pio Esposito against Cremonese in Matchday 23 of the 2025/2026 Serie A season.
The official lineups for tonight’s Serie A match, which kicks off at 18:00 CET in Cremona, have been published.
Inter Milan look to continue their impressive run of form after a midweek win over Borussia Dortmund saw them qualify for the Champions League play-offs.
This evening, the Nerazzurri face a must-win contest, after Napoli won yesterday to move temporarily six points behind Inter.
Cristian Chivu is without a number of players, as Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Denzel Dumfries continue to sit out through injury.
Therefore, the 45-year-old had to change his starting lineup tonight.
Cremonese Inter Milan – Chivu & Bastoni Return To The Starting XI As Chivu Trusts Lautaro & Pio Esposito
Alessandro Bastoni returns to Chivu’s starting eleven after being benched to start with in the Champions League win over Dortmund.
Bastoni came on as a second half substitute but the Italian starts today, alongside Manuel Akanji and Yann Bisseck.
This is quickly becoming Chivu’s defence of choice, as Acerbi and De Vrij continue to slip down the pecking order.
Meanwhile, in attack, Lautaro Martínez and Francesco Pio Esposito are given the nod by Chivu.
In the win against Dortmund, Chivu started Marcus Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny, leading many to speculate the Romanian would continue with his Lautaro & Pio Esposito partnership domestically.
Davide Frattesi also returns to the starting lineup, putting an end to the transfer speculation linking him with Nottingham Forest.
Cremonese vs Inter Milan – Chivu Trusts Luis Henrique On The Right
Inter’s right flank continues to be a hot topic for debate.
Denzel Dumfries is still not recovered from the injury that has left him sidelined, whilst Premier League club Liverpool have expressed an interest in a deal for the Dutchman over the past couple of days.
Ci siamo, tocca a noi 🖤💙@play_eFootball pic.twitter.com/4yGrO6OJ1J
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter) February 1, 2026
Inter were strongly linked with a return for Croatian winger Ivan Perisic.
However, PSV put up a strong defence and look likely to keep hold of the veteran.
Luis Henrique had been linked away from Inter as a result of the Perisic rumours, with Bournemouth and Besiktas interested.
However, the Nerazzurri’s inability to source a replacement has led them to keep Henrique, for now.
The Brazilian starts again today on the right-hand side.
Cremonese Vs Inter Milan – Official Starting Lineups: Luis Henrique, Bastoni & Pio Esposito Start
CREMONESE (3-5-2): Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Folino; Ceccherini, Zerbin, Grassi, Maleh, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Vardy.
Bench: Silvestri, Nava, Mussolini, Bianchetti, Faye, Johnsen, Djuric.
Coach: Nicola
Suspended: Barbieri (1).
Unavailable: Collocolo, Bondo, Payero, Sanabria, Moumbagna.
INTER (3-5-2): Sommer; Akanji, Bisseck, Bastoni; Luis Henrique, Frattesi, Zielinski, Sucic, Dimarco; Pio Esposito, Lautaro
Bench: Martinez, Di Gennaro, Acerbi, De Vrij, Darmian, Cocchi, Bovo, Kamaté, Diouf, Bonny, Thuram.
Coach: Chivu.
Suspended: none.
Unavailable: Carlos Augusto, Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Barella.
Referee: Massa
Assistants: Peretti & Laudato
Fourth official: Tremolada
VAR: Manni
Assistant VAR: Fabbri