Inter Milan will enter Saturday's Serie A clash with Hellas Verona knowing that a win would take them to the top of the table with leaders Juventus not in action until Sunday night.
Antonio Conte's side have collected 28 points from their 11 league outings this term to sit second, while Verona are ninth with 15 points to show from their 11 fixtures during the 2019-20 campaign.
Match preview
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Inter's Serie A form this season has been outstanding - winning nine, drawing one and losing one of their 11 matches to sit second in the table. As mentioned, Juve are not in action until Sunday night, meaning that a victory for Conte's team against Verona would move them to the top of the division.
Back-to-back wins over Brescia and Bologna in their last two have placed them in a strong position, but Conte launched into a furious rant following his team's 3-2 loss at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
The Milan giants actually led 2-0 at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday night before BVB turned things around in the second half. The result has left Inter in third spot in Group F, and Conte claimed that poor planning over the summer had left him with a squad incapable of competing on all fronts this season.
January could well be a busy month for Inter in terms of incomings, but the Black and Blues are going well in the league this term. Indeed, Juve are only team to beat them, while Romelu Lukaku has proved to be an excellent signing with the Belgium international managing nine goals in 11 league outings.
It is going to take some effort to break the Juve domination in Italy, particularly considering that Inter have not won Serie A since 2010. Conte has seemingly installed a new belief, though, and it will be fascinating to see whether they can stay in the title race heading into the final straight.
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Promoted back to Serie A via the Serie B playoffs last season, Verona have made an encouraging start to the campaign. Indeed, a total of 15 points from 11 matches has left them in ninth position, just three points off seventh-placed Napoli heading into the next set of fixtures.
Verona actually only won one of their first six league matches of the 2019-20 campaign but have been victorious in three of their last five, including back-to-back successes over Parma and Brescia, although the win over the latter last weekend was marred by allegations of racial abuse towards Mario Balotelli.
The Yellow and Blues have lost on their last two visits to Inter in Italy's top flight, including a 3-0 defeat during the 2017-18 campaign. That said, they did manage to claim a draw at San Siro in 2014, while they will be the fresher of the two teams having had a free week to prepare for the match.
The 1984-85 Serie A champions have really struggled for goals this season, though, managing just nine in their 11 matches; only Udinese, Sampdoria and SPAL have scored fewer at this stage, which is a concerning record heading into this weekend's clash with one of the top teams in the division.
Ivan Juric's side have been much improved in recent matches, though, and will be confident of causing Inter problems in the wake of Conte's harsh words during the week.
Inter Milan form: WLWDWW
Hellas Verona form: DWLLWW
Team News
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Inter will again be without the services of Alexis Sanchez and Danilo D'Ambrosio due to ankle and toe injuries respectively, but Conte has no fresh concerns from the Dortmund clash.
Stefano Sensi is in line to start having returned from a recent lay-off, but Kwadwo Asamoah is a huge doubt with a knee problem, meaning that Cristiano Biraghi is expected to continue at wing-back.
Lukaku should again be joined by Lautaro Martinez in the final third of the field, while Nico Barella and Marcelo Brozovic are also expected to make the XI once again.
As for Verona, Daniel Bessa, Emmanuel Badu, Salvatore Bocchetti and Lubomir Tupta are all unavailable, while Koray Gunter, Marash Kumbulla and Miguel Veloso are doubts for the visitors.
Pawel Dawidowicz and Matteo Pessina could come into the starting XI having featured off the bench against Brescia, but Eddie Salcedo will be ineligible against his parent club.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup: Handanovic; Godin, De Vrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Barella, Brozovic, Sensi, Biraghi; Martinez, Lukaku
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup: Silvestri; Alan, Rrahmani, Dawidowicz; Lazovic, Amrabat, Pessina, Faraoni; Verre, Stepinski, Zaccagni
We say: Inter Milan 2-0 Hellas Verona
Inter will be keen to return to winning ways after their Champions League disappointment during the week, and we fancy Conte's side to record a two-goal victory in front of their own supporters on Saturday night.
Matt Law
