Following a series of eleven consecutive victories, league leaders Inter Milan now face fast-fading Hellas Verona this Sunday on the back of two straight draws, but are still within touching distance of the Scudetto.
Antonio Conte's team are just three wins away from securing their first Serie A title in a decade, so will hope to make short work of a Hellas side that have lost six of their last seven games.
Match preview
© Reuters
On Wednesday, table-topping Inter edged closer to a first Italian championship triumph since 2010 with a 1-1 draw at Spezia that took them 10 points clear of closest rivals Milan at the top of Serie A.
Though an early Diego Farias goal put their Ligurian hosts in front, Ivan Perisic - restored to the starting lineup after a spell out of the side - levelled for the Nerazzurri shortly before the break.
Inter went on to dominate both possession and the shot count at Stadio Alberto Picco, but Antonio Conte's side were unable to find a winner in the second half. Nonetheless, Milan's failure at home to Sassuolo allowed them to add a further point to their advantage and move tantalisingly close to deposing old foes Juventus as champions.
Conte and company can now welcome Verona to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on an unbeaten run stretching back to January's 2-1 defeat at Sampdoria, as going out of the cup competitions has helped them to sweep aside all-comers domestically since the turn of the year.
Having claimed 40 out of 45 points on offer from their home fixtures so far, they have little to fear on Sunday. The Nerazzurri are not only unbeaten in 29 home games against Verona since 1992, but are also on a run of 12 straight Serie A wins at San Siro and could now equal the club's best-ever tally of 13, set back in 2011.
© Reuters
Aside from delaying Inter claiming their 19th Scudetto, an out-of-form Verona side have little invested in their latest engagement - with only a top-half finish remaining to aim for next month.
An unedifying second-half collapse at Sampdoria last Saturday brought about a second straight defeat for the Scaligeri, who uncharacteristically shipped three goals to their closest rivals in the Serie A standings, before a midweek reverse to Fiorentina saw them slip down to tenth in the table.
After conceding twice, either side of the break, frustrated head coach Ivan Juric made a triple substitution and Eddie Salcedo's header subsequently got Hellas back into the game. However, despite having nearly two-thirds of the ball, the hosts were unable to salvage even a point.
In all, the Venetian outfit have now lost six of their last seven top-flight outings and currently have the weakest scoring record of any club in the top half of the table - highlighting undoubtedly their greatest flaw.
With midfielder Antonin Barak still the Gialloblu's top scorer this campaign on a modest seven goals, the pressure continues to grow on goal-shy January signing Kevin Lasagna to deliver some returns on Verona's investment - a particularly tall task this week, as he comes up against one of the most well-drilled defences in Europe.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Inter have few injury concerns ahead of Sunday's game, as only back-up defender Aleksandar Kolarov is definitely ruled out with a muscle problem and midfielder Arturo Vidal's return from knee surgery is still in doubt.
Recently out of favour, converted wing-back Ivan Perisic came on during the draw with Napoli last weekend and then scored the equaliser at Spezia, so will hope to keep his place ahead of Ashley Young.
Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri's illustrious front pairing of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez are expected to continue in tandem, despite their penalty box productivity declining of late, so Alexis Sanchez will have to make do with a role as a second-half replacement.
In addition to his team's woeful recent form, visiting coach Ivan Juric has several availability issues to contend with.
On-loan midfielder Stefano Sturaro must serve a suspension for Verona after being booked as a substitute in midweek, while defenders Federico Ceccherini and Matteo Lovato missed out due to thigh problems and will continue to be assessed ahead of the game.
Furthermore, ex-Leeds United man Ronaldo Vieira is still absent as he slowly recovers from a thigh injury of his own, while captain Miguel Veloso has had surgery on a neck injury and will also miss out.
Eddie Salcedo may be rewarded for his goal last time out with an opportunity to feature in attack, with Mattia Zaccagni - who came off the bench to be involved in the assist - also hoping to be restored to the first XI.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Hakimi, Barella, Brozovic, Eriksen, Perisic; Martinez, Lukaku
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Ceccherini, Magnani, Dimarco; Faraoni, Ilic, Tameze, Lazovic; Barak, Bessa; Lasagna
We say: Inter Milan 1-0 Hellas Verona
Though Inter's previous potency has been quelled by the 'Lu-La' strike duo's quiet spell, they have still accumulated a steady stream of points with a more cautious approach, as they seek to defend their lead in the league.
Their visitors' lamentable attacking efforts have amounted to little this term - Verona have scored more than 30 goals fewer than the Nerazzurri so far - so a slim margin of victory in a low-scoring game can be expected, as Conte's men edge closer to the title.
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 66.8%. A draw had a probability of 18.9% and a win for Hellas Verona had a probability of 14.25%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.82%) and 1-0 (9.77%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.9%), while for a Hellas Verona win it was 1-2 (4.06%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Inter Milan would win this match.
