Welcome back to Serie A football! Tonight Inter play hosts to Fiorentina to get the 20/21 season underway. Both teams have had a positive, yet short, pre-season to prepare for the season ahead, and there is not telling what might happen tonight.
Inter have had mixed results when it comes to season openers, although there is a pattern to how it may go. In the last 5 season openers, Inter have won 3 and lost 2, compare that to Fiorentina’s previous results, who have won 2 and lost 3.
Inter have the edge here, and it is worth noting, Inter are playing at their home stadium, the fortress that is the Giuseppe Meazza. The last 3 games Inter have played at home on a season opener, they have won all of them, scoring a total of 8 goals and conceding 0.
The biggest win was against Lecce last year with a 4-0 drubbing. Fiorentina’s away form on season openers is not great, they have lost all of the last 3 matches played away from home, conceding 8 goals, and scoring 5.
It may also be worth noting, 3 years ago Inter played hosts to tonight’s visitors on an opening match, and won 3-0 on that occasion. Could we see a repeat of that result tonight? Previous form definitely points in that direction.
Inter are at a slight disadvantage tonight as Stefan De Vrij, voted best defender in Serie A last season, is suspended, and is expected to be replaced by new signing Aleksander Kolarov.
Conte will most likely line up with his preferred 3-5-2 formation, with Handanovic in goal, a back 3 of Kolarov, Skriniar and Bastoni.
The midfield will also feature a debutant, Achraf Hakimi, will line up in the right wing, and Ashley Young on the opposite side, and the middle filled with Barella, Brozovic and most likely Stefano Sensi.
Sensi started last season in blazing form, but was riddled with injuries throughout the rest of the season. The top 2 will be the usual suspects of Lukaku and Lautaro, who will be looking to continue their fantastic combinations this year.
Fiorentina are likely to line up in a similar 3-5-2- formation tonight, with the impressive Dragowski in the sticks. The back 3 for the Viola will most likely feature Milenkovic, Pazzella and Caceres. Fiorentina’s star man, Federico Chiesa will likely be on the right side of the midfield.
The man who spent last year on loan at the Nerazzurri, Cristiano Biraghi, will be on the left, with a filling of wonderkid Castrovilli, Inter academy product Alfred Duncan, and new boy Amrabat, who had a very impressive season at Hellas last year.
The top 2 for Fiorentina tonight will be a mix of experience and youthful exuberance, with Fanck Ribery, and Michael Kouame, who has only scored 1 goal since joining Fiorentina in January.
As this is the first game of the season for Inter, many will be watching to see how they fair against a side who should be challenging for Europe, and can then make assumptions on whether Inter can finally beat Juventus to the Scudetto, and stop them from winning their 10th league title in succession.
The main players to watch out for tonight, who can really make a difference and influence the result of this match would be Romelu Lukaku for Inter, for obvious reasons.
He was Inter’s top scorer last season, and will be looking to continue that form into this season and maybe challenge for the capocanonniere.
Federico Chiesa is another player who can turn a game on it’s head, and Inter will need to keep him under control, as he will likely be matching up against Ashley Young, who is no spring chicken, but will need to use his wealth of experience if he is to keep Chiesa away from Inter’s goal.
Hit us up on InterStats & SempreInter on Twitter using #InterStats before, during and after the game for coverage of the fixture.