Fresh from a cathartic return to the Champions League, Inter Milan will aim to get back to winning ways in Serie A when they host Sassuolo on Sunday.

Inter followed Derby d'Italia defeat with midweek success in Amsterdam, so they will expect to beat promoted opponents - but their visitors have previous form at San Siro.

Match preview

Playing in Europe's top tournament for the first time since their final humbling by Paris Saint-Germain, Inter returned to continental competition with a 2-0 win over Ajax on Wednesday.

Two Marcus Thuram headers from Hakan Calhanoglu corners were sufficient to beat the hosts at Johan Cruyff Arena, as the Nerazzurri made a successful start to the league phase.

Having reached two finals in three years under Simone Inzaghi, the reins have since been handed to Cristian Chivu, but the ex-Ajax defender has made a mixed start in Serie A. 

After a 5-0 destruction of Torino, Chivu's side were surprisingly beaten by Udinese at San Siro, before fumbling three points in a classic Derby d'Italia.

Following in the footsteps of last year's eight-goal thriller, Inter and old foes Juventus shared seven goals in Turin, where the Nerazzurri fought back to lead but conceded twice in the chaotic closing stages.

Now, the Milan giants must aim to avoid slipping further behind Juve and early pace-setters Napoli, who have both posted maximum points so far.

However, one of Inter's bogey sides stand between them and another much-needed victory, as Sassuolo have won 10 of the clubs' 22 previous Serie A contests.

Indeed, the Neroverdi have lost just two of the last nine meetings at San Siro, including the most recent - a Domenico Berardi-inspired 2-1 success just shy of two years ago.

Perhaps more relevant is that Sassuolo have slowly adapted to life back in the top flight, following their promotion as Serie B champions.

After understandably losing to Scudetto holders Napoli, Fabio Grosso's men were painfully beaten by fellow promoted side Cremonese, but they caused an impressive upset last time out.

Within six minutes of his arrival from the bench, Alieu Fadera's close-range strike sealed victory over Lazio, and ex-Inter defender Grosso now takes his team north to Milan.

Inter Milan Serie A form:

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Inter Milan form (all competitions):

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Sassuolo Serie A form:

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Sassuolo form (all competitions):

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Team News

Rested in midweek due to an ongoing back problem, Inter captain Lautaro Martinez may not be ready to return on Sunday, so rising star Francesco Pio Esposito could keep his place.

Esposito partnered five-goal top scorer Thuram against Ajax, but while he is set to stay put, Chivu will make one or two changes.

Meanwhile, Sassuolo could be missing right-back Sebastian Walukiewicz, who was withdrawn midway through the win over Lazio.

Danish forward Laurs Skjellerup will return, though, leaving Yeferson Paz as the only player definitely unavailable to Grosso.

Having previously scored his first goal for Gambia, Fadera was last week's matchwinner, and he will vie with Armand Lauriente to support ex-Inter man Andrea Pinamonti. Joining them in the final third, Berardi has scored seven Serie A goals at San Siro.

Inter Milan possible starting lineup: Martinez; Akanji, Acerbi, Augusto; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Sucic, Dimarco; Esposito, Thuram

Sassuolo possible starting lineup: Muric; Coulibaly, Idzes, Muharemovic, Doig; Kone, Matic, Vranckx; Berardi, Pinamonti, Lauriente

We say: Inter Milan 3-1 Sassuolo

Still a work in progress under new management, Inter are a little more unpredictable than in recent years, but they can see off their bogey team this weekend.

A clean sheet in Amsterdam will have helped settle an unusually nervy defence - albeit Sassuolo can still cause them plenty of problems.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Jonathan O'Shea

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