Preview: Inter Milan vs. Pisa - prediction, team news, lineups

A fascinating Serie A title race could take another interesting turn in gameweek 22, which starts with Inter Milan hosting second-bottom Pisa at San Siro on Friday.

Inter head into this weekend fresh off being outplayed by Arsenal in the Champions League, but they hope to refocus ahead of facing an opponent they have not lost to since 1987 by returning to winning ways after Tuesday’s humbling.

Match preview

The chasm in quality and depth was evident on Tuesday, as Arsenal beat Inter 3-1 in the penultimate matchday of the league phase of the Champions League, leaving the Nerazzurri outside the coveted top-eight spots with one game remaining.

Cristian Chivu’s team will need to beat Borussia Dortmund next Wednesday to have any shot of finishing in the automatic qualification places.

Turning their focus back to Serie A on Friday, the league-leading hosts face a tight turnaround after Tuesday's loss as they seek to open a six-point lead by taking advantage of playing first this time.

With second-placed AC Milan travelling to the Eternal City to face Roma — who have won six of their last eight matches at the Olimpico — and Napoli playing Juventus in Turin, Inter could be the biggest winners of round 22.

That feeling is strengthened considering the precedent in this fixture, with Inter winning six on the trot — including 2-0 in the matchday 13's reverse fixture this term — since falling to consecutive defeats in January 1986 and November 1987.

Regardless, Inter will be wary against the only side in Serie A still to win away from home this season.

Despite Alberto Gilardino's men failing to win in 10 fixtures on the road, only three times have the 19th-placed team suffered defeat.

Digging deeper, the promoted side have lost only once on their travels since falling to consecutive losses at Napoli (3-2) and Bologna (4-0) in late September and early October, respectively, with December's 1-0 at Lecce the club's only setback on the road.

Six of their recent seven away games have ended in draws, highlighting Pisa's resilience on their trips, with their free-scoring nature in such games differing from their inability to score at home.

I Torri have scored two goals in six different matches on their travels — 14 overall — while notching just two at Arena Garibaldi.

Although they sit second-bottom and could slip to 20th at the end of the round, Pisa are only three points from safety despite winning once in 21 games since returning to the top flight.

Now it remains to be seen if Gilardino’s team take advantage of a possibly distracted Inter, who could have an eye on next week’s trip to Dortmund in Friday’s contest.

Inter Milan Serie A form:

Inter Milan form (all competitions):

Pisa Serie A form:

Team News

Even though Inter did not suffer any new injuries against Arsenal, Chivu has several players on the treatment table: Denzel Dumfries is out after undergoing ankle surgery, while Tomas Palacios (thigh), Raffaele Di Gennaro (hand) and Hakan Calhanoglu (muscle) are absent.

After a three-match drought without scoring, Lautaro Martinez netted his eighth match-winner in last weekend's victory against Udinese, bringing him to 11 overall in Serie A.

Martinez's five home goals are a joint-high in the league — level with Juventus' Kenan Yildiz, AC Milan's Rafael Leao and Fiorentina's Moise Kean — and El Toro seeks to be standalone atop that statistic.

Pisa, meanwhile, have a plethora of injury problems, with Juan Cuadrado (thigh), Raul Albiol, Calvin Stengs (thigh), Mateus Lusuardi, Daniel Denoon (ankle) and Isak Vural (knee) all expected to miss out.

Rafiu Durosinmi ended the Towers' four-match drought without a home goal last time out against Atalanta (1-1), and the winter signing is pushing for his first start after scoring on his debut last weekend.

Possibly returning to the side in some capacity is Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, who could feature after Africa Cup of Nations duty with Nigeria.

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Henrique, Barella, Zielinski, Sucic, Dimarco; Esposito, Martinez

Pisa possible starting lineup:

Scuffet; Calabrese, Canestrelli, Coppola; Toure, Marin, Aebischer, Angora; Moreo, Tramoni; Durosinmi

We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Pisa

Chivu's men might find themselves leggy after the Arsenal defeat, presenting an opportunity to Pisa, who travel well despite their position in the table.

Nonetheless, Inter's squad depth should eventually tell as they look to open up a six-point lead at the summit, thus ending the Tuscan club's seven-match undefeated streak on the road.

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