This weekend Inter welcome former Inter coach Gian Piero Gasperini’s Genoa to the San Siro on Saturday 5 December 2015 (kick off 20:45 CET) in matchday 15 of the 2015’16 Serie A season.
Inter come into this game on the back of a disappointing 2-1 loss against Scudetto rivals Napoli on Monday night which brought to an end their four match winning run.
Despite the result at the San Paolo, Inter came out of the game with a lot of pride as when down to ten men after losing Yuto Nagatomo to a second booking and two goals down, they were very much improved against an on fire Napoli and even could have got a point if not for the post and Pepe Reina, who produced a fine save from Joao Miranda’s header in the final seconds.
That defeat in terms of the league table wasn’t that bad for Inter considering that rivals Roma and Fiorentina dropped points as well in matchday 14. The result saw Napoli leapfrog Inter into first place on 31 points with Inter one point behind on 30 and Fiorentina in third on 29 then Roma in fourth on 27 points.
Genoa also come into this game on the back of a defeat against newcomers Carpi (1-2) in Genoa last weekend. That was the Grifone’s sixth defeat in a disappointing season so far with their five other losses coming against Empoli (2-0), Lazio (2-0), Juventus (0-2), Fiorentina (1-0) and Palermo (1-0).
There have been some good wins however against Sassuolo (2-1), Chievo (3-2), AC Milan (1-0) and Hellas Verona (2-0) adding to two good draws against Napoli (0-0) and Torino (3-3).
Genoa’s shaky form sees them sit in 15th place in the standings on 16 points, 3 points outside the relegation zone and their hopes won’t be helped by top scorer Leonardo Pavoletti’s suspension for this game.
Here is the Inter team news and probable line up as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport:
Samir Handanovic starts in goal with Danilo D’Ambrosio expected to keep his place at right back as Davide Santon is still injured. The central defensive partnership of Joao Miranda and Jeison Murillo is also expected to start while at left back Yuto Nagatomo is suspended after being sent off at Napoli so it is between Juan Jesus and Alex Telles for the place, with the latter the favourite.
In a midfield three, Geoffrey Kondogbia will not make the game despite returning to training this week after a muscle injury so Gary Medel is expected to start alongside Felipe Melo and one of Fredy Guarin or Marcelo Brozovic with the Croatian favoured at this stage.
In an attacking trident, Ivan Perisic has had flu this week and isn’t expected to start the game with his place on the right possibly going to Stevan Jovetic and on the left Adem Ljajic should start after a great performance against Napoli.
Up top captain Mauro Icardi is expected to start despite having only 13 touches against Napoli in his time on the pitch, which was less than both goalkeepers on the night.
Probable Inter line up (subject to change): (4-3-3) Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Murillo, Telles; Medel, Melo, Brozovic; Jovetic, Ljajic, Icardi (C)
Bench: Carrizo, Berni, Juan Jesus, Dodo, Montoya, Ranocchia, Guarin, Gnoukouri, Palacio, Biabiany, Perisic, Manaj
Some Stats:
Inter and Genoa have met at the San Siro in Serie A 62 times with Inter leading the stats with 38 wins to Genoa’s 12 wins with 12 matches drawn.
In the overall Serie A records (home and away), Inter continue to lead the stats with 54 wins to Genoa’s 37 wins with 34 of the 125 matches ending in a draw.
In last season’s corresponding fixture at the San Siro between the clubs on 11 January 2015, Inter won 3-1 with goals from Palacio, Icardi and Vidic.
Genoa’s last win against Inter in Serie A at the San Siro came way back on 26 March 1994 in a 1-3 win with goals from Ruotolo x2 and Skuhravy.
Inter have two former Genoa players in their ranks in Andrea Ranocchia and Rodrigo Palacio while Genoa have four ex Inter men in coach Gian Piero Gasperini, Goran Pandev, Nicolas Burdisso and Diego Laxalt.
Player to Watch: Adem Ljajic – The Serbian has been instrumental in Inter’s last two games with his creativity and link up play.
My Prediction: Inter 2-0 Genoa
Scorers: Ljajic, Icardi
Officials: Referee: Piero Giacomelli Assistants: Di Fiore, Vuoto
Fourth Official: Padovan Additional Assistants: Valeri, Baracani
Author’s Note: I expect Inter to bounce back after their high profile defeat to Napoli. Also with Inter playing on Saturday, three points is crucial to put pressure on Napoli who play a sort of bogey team for them in Bologna on Sunday who they have only beat twice in their last seven matches.
Forza Inter!
Here’s what Mancini should do this game; first, TRY MONTOYA for fuck sake! Play with Icardi and JOJO up front as two lone strikers, they need to learn how to play together and build up chemistry, Mancini can’t just keep playing them individually we need a good duo up front and I believe Icardi and JOJO are the best in Serie A very deadly . LW Ljacic and RW Biabiany. Alex Telles should MOST DEFINITELY start becuase of his great previous performance. M&M as usual as CD. Midfield, thats the big question here…Brozovic behind Icardi and JOJO. behind him medel. play a 4 1 3 2 .
I won’t gamble for montoya. The rest is perfect. I prefer rano as CB and murillo as RB rather than Montoya.
Montoya can’t be that bad, can’t be as bad as d’ambrosio come on na
Nah. Murrilo isn’t a good full-back becuase for two reasons. 1. He lacks speed like every full-backs we have (telles, Juan, Naga, Santon). 2. He cannot deliver good crosses to the forward. So that said, Montoya is a great player, trust me I’ve see him play in Barcelona. His speed is incredible and he is a good defender overall. Especially counter attacks for and against us. His speed really helps him. Rano is out of form tbh, so I wouldn’t mess with our solid defense we need that cleansheet back
You will think I’m crazy but I think guaro should play, he will have more freedom to attack against genoa unlike against napoli
You know, you might not be wrong. Guarin is good when he has space but under pressure he is shit. That being said…I wouldn’t gamble on him only until second half when Genoa players are a little tired, then he’ll get his full freedom in the middle
100% agree with your lineup
I think Mancini will opt for a more attacking lineup with Biabiany on the right and Jojo in the hole behind Icardi in a 4-2-3-1. This would provide a lot more service to Icardi and put pressure on Genoa’s defense. They’ll be outnumbered with the help of the wingbacks. Melo will probably be partners by Brozo or Medel with Guaro on the bench
I am not sure guarin at bench unless official statement prove that. Having guarin on the pitch is same as we play with 10 players.
Wow 13 touches for icardi..that’s really really bad..especially for serie A’s top goal scorer last season..you’d like to think that with all these players brought in that help in link up play would work in Icardi’s favor but it’s proving not to be so..he needs service..might as well start Palacio..hopefully he’d get something on the board but I’m beginning to worry about his development..surely you can’t improce much on the field having 13 touches the entire game even if he was sacrified after the red but let’s see how this game goes tomorrow.Forza inter!! My prediction 4-1 to inter
Prediction 2-0 to Genoa…..lol jk to Inter! Also ur 100% right! Icardi isn’t getting enough balls :/