Seeking to apply pressure to their city rivals at the top of Serie A, Inter Milan welcome Fiorentina to San Siro on Saturday evening.
Trailing leaders Milan by four points - though still with a game in hand - the Scudetto holders are experiencing their first downturn in form for many months and will now meet an entertaining but unpredictable away side.
Match preview
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Playing just after fellow title rivals Napoli, but shortly before their Milanese cousins this weekend, Inter remain in the thick of the Scudetto race despite a significant spell of disappointing results.
Last week's 1-1 draw with mid-table Torino was only salvaged by a stoppage-time equaliser from second-half substitute Alexis Sanchez, and the Nerazzurri are amid a run of just one win from their last six league outings ahead of Serie A's 30th round.
Having impressed the continent with their displays in a losing cause against Liverpool, Simone Inzaghi's side have nonetheless continued to falter domestically - losing to Milan and Sassuolo; drawing with Napoli, Genoa and now Torino - and also being held goalless in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final against the Rossoneri.
Indeed, from mid-January onwards, Inter are in ninth position in the form table, with 10 points - four fewer than Fiorentina - and recently endured a four-game run without either a win or a goal.
The champions have, though, accrued 32 points from 14 home games in Serie A this season, which is more than any other side, and are also owners of a particularly proud record versus the Viola over the past two decades.
Since 2001, Inter have won 16 of their 19 home games against Saturday's opponents in the top flight, and Inzaghi will be desperate for his team to make that 17 from 20 as they continue their defence of the title.
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Comfortably inside the top eight after last week's success against Bologna, Fiorentina's revival rolls on into the final third of coach Vincenzo Italiano's first campaign in charge.
Despite their dominance at Stadio Artemio Franchi - where they have accumulated fewer home points than only Inter and Milan - it took a 70th-minute winner from the unlikely source of Lucas Torreira to secure three more points; keeping the Viola in the hunt for European qualification.
At the end of the 11 most recent campaigns in which they posted at least their current tally of 46 points from the first 28 Serie A matches, the Tuscan club have ultimately finished in the top six at the end of the season. No doubt, Italiano's current squad retain optimism that they can do so again, despite Dusan Vlahovic's January departure.
However, while they have clearly excelled on home soil, Fiorentina have conceded goals in each of their last 10 away games in Serie A; losing six times in the process.
That underlines a certain brittleness in their makeup, but sitting just three points adrift of fifth-placed Lazio with a game still in hand, the Viola have a return to the bright lights of Europe in their sights and are unlikely to make life easy for their hosts on Saturday.
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Team News
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Though Stefan de Vrij has already been ruled out until after the international break, Inter's main concern ahead of Saturday's game relates to midfield orchestrator Marcelo Brozovic, whose presence is still far from certain after missing out against Torino with a calf injury.
With the Croatia international unavailable, Simone Inzaghi will most likely opt for Arturo Vidal or Roberto Gagliardini to fill in, though Matias Vecino started last time out in Turin.
Whoever is selected will join Hakan Calhanoglu in the hosts' three-man engine room, and the Turkish playmaker has already racked up four goals and as many assists against Fiorentina from just nine Serie A games. He has also laid on eight assists so far this season - only one fewer than his previous best tally since moving to Italy.
By contrast, Fiorentina striker Krzysztof Piatek - formerly of Milan - has featured three times against Inter in Serie A without finding the net, so will look to break his duck in that regard as he features up front for the visitors.
Having started last week, amid stiff competition from Jonathan Ikone and Riccardo Saponara for his place in support of the frontman, Nico Gonzalez will hope to be picked once again; aiming to earn redemption for his dismissal in the reverse fixture when the game was still finely balanced - the Viola went on to lose 3-1.
Aside from midfield pair Sofyan Amrabat and Giacomo Bonaventura, Vincenzo Italiano should have a fully fit squad to choose from on Saturday, so will name a familiar starting XI, lining up in his favoured 4-3-3 formation.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; D'Ambrosio, Skriniar, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Vidal, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Martinez, Dzeko
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Odriozola, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Castrovilli, Torreira, Duncan; Gonzalez, Piatek, Sottil
We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Fiorentina
Inter can get back on track with a victory this week, as Fiorentina do not tend to travel well, and their attacking approach may play into the champions' hands.
The Nerazzurri have scored the joint-most goals in the last 30 minutes of Serie A games this season (22), so another late strike such as last weekend's should not be discounted if the scores remain level heading towards stoppage time.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 67.62%. A draw had a probability of 18.5% and a win for Fiorentina had a probability of 13.93%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.77%) and 1-0 (9.32%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.62%), while for a Fiorentina win it was 1-2 (3.99%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 8.6% likelihood.
