After a frustrating road trip earlier this week, Inter Milan look to continue their improving home form on Saturday evening, when Udinese visit San Siro.
Despite being held goalless by Serie A strugglers Sampdoria on Monday, Inter still occupy second place in the standings. Meanwhile, the Bianconeri's stuttering start to 2023 continued with a draw at home to Sassuolo last time out.
Match preview
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Having fired in 25 shots at goal and been denied on several occasions by Sampdoria skipper Emil Audero, a disappointing trip to Genoa saw Inter remain unable to string together a winning run that would pose at least some threat to Napoli's Scudetto coronation.
Romelu Lukaku was again ineffective despite resuming his partnership with Lautaro Martinez from the start, as the Nerazzurri left Marassi with a single point and saw a three-match success streak ended - they had previously knocked Atalanta out of the Coppa Italia before beating Cremonese and city rivals Milan in the league.
Nonetheless, Inter have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three fixtures and now return to San Siro, where they have recorded seven of their eight Serie A shut-outs this season; no side has conceded fewer goals on home soil this term - only five in 11 matches.
Curiously, it is at the other end of the pitch where Simone Inzaghi's side are slightly waning, as Martinez has been the scorer of their last five goals in the league. Others may be required to step up soon, though, as Saturday's is Inter's final outing before returning to the Champions League against Porto next week.
Also into the Coppa Italia semi-finals, as their defence of the trophy continues, they may be effectively be out of a one-horse title race, but plenty is left to play for in the months ahead - particularly their European commitments and a triple-header with old foes Juventus, who await in the cup.
First, though, Inter tackle opponents they have lost to in just one of their last 10 league meetings, while winning on seven occasions - though that solitary defeat came in the most recent encounter, last September.
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One of the highlights of their flying start to the season, Udinese were surprise 3-1 winners when these sides last met in the reverse fixture, with two late strikes handing them maximum points at the Dacia Arena.
While such success has been far harder to come by since autumn turned to winter, the Bianconeri could now do the double over Inter for the first time in a decade by posting just their second victory of 2023.
Udinese have, however, lost all of the clubs' last four meetings in Milan, and recent form suggests that they are significant outsiders on this occasion: last week's 2-2 draw at Sassuolo took their points total since the winter break up to a mere six.
A team that has so often fought back to snatch points this term, Andrea Sottil's side were pegged back twice themselves after Destiny Udogie had provided a dream start by scoring in the opening minute, but their first two-goal haul of the year at least provided a minor consolation.
Having only beaten Sampdoria since the start of October and also exited the Coppa Italia, any dreams of European qualification are growing ever-more distant; a nine-point gap to Lazio, who sit sixth, means a top-half finish may be the height of Udinese's ambitions this season.
Team News
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In addition to back-up striker Joaquin Correa, who will be sidelined by a thigh injury until March, Inter have doubts relating to the fitness of Robin Gosens, who was substituted at half-time on Monday due to a muscular issue.
With Federico Dimarco set to replace Gosens on the left in any case, Simone Inzaghi's main selection dilemma comes up front, as Lautaro Martinez - who aims to become the first player to score six Serie A goals in a row for the club since 1983 - is in competition with Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku.
At the back, Alessandro Bastoni can expect to return to the side at Stefan de Vrij's expense, and the hosts could make further changes with a big game coming up on Wednesday.
While Inter have relied heavily on Martinez since the World Cup, Udinese have scored only one goal via their strikers in 2023 to date - fewer than any other side since the turn of the year.
The absence of chief creator Gerard Deulofeu has surely played its part in such impotency, and the Spanish star will be out of action until April at least. Meanwhile, Ilija Nestorovski remains a doubt due to an adductor injury.
Despite their lack of goals, Beto and Isaac Success could be paired up front, though the ever-versatile Roberto Pereyra played as a support striker against Sassuolo and January signing Florian Thauvin is also in contention.
Since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign, no defender has scored more goals (penalties excluded) than the visitors' Destiny Udogie across Europe's top five leagues - eight, level with former Inter man Achraf Hakimi. The Tottenham Hotspur-bound wing-back once again starts on the left of a likely 3-5-1-1 formation.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Dzeko, Lukaku
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Becao, Bijol, Perez; Ehizibue, Pereyra, Walace, Lovric, Udogie; Thauvin; Beto
We say: Inter Milan 2-0 Udinese
No Serie A side has scored more times during the opening half-hour than Inter this season, while Udinese have often proved sluggish early on; conceding the most goals in the first 15 minutes. That seems like a recipe for defeat as far as the Fruilani are concerned - particularly as they lack the tools to fight back given their forwards' dire form.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
