Following defeat in last week's Derby d'Italia, Inter Milan sit outside Serie A's top six with just two games remaining until the World Cup break, and they aim for an immediate response when hosting Bologna on Wednesday.
Losing to an ailing Juventus side leaves Inter coach Simone Inzaghi under serious pressure to produce three points at San Siro - particularly against the team which all but ended their Scudetto hopes last term.
Match preview
© Reuters
With both clubs trailing behind in the Serie A title race, old rivals Inter and Juventus were equally desperate for points when they convened in Turin to contest the latest Derby d'Italia.
Despite out-performing their hosts on the European stage - the Nerazzurri recently sealed progress to the Champions League's last 16, where they will meet Porto in February - they were sluggish and one-dimensional in a 2-0 loss on Sunday night, as Juve sprung out of their own malaise and leapt above them in the table.
After narrowly missing out on a second successive Scudetto in May, when a late defeat in Bologna virtually handed the title to Milan, now Simone Inzaghi's men have slipped some 11 points adrift of relentless leaders Napoli; leaving a mountain to climb in 2023.
Having also been beaten at Bayern Munich last week, Inter have now shipped 16 of their 19 goals conceded away from home, losing four times too, but have fared far better when back at their Milanese stronghold. Indeed, they have kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven Serie A home games, and have generally dominated at San Siro for some time now.
Inzaghi may need to rely on such home comforts on Wednesday, as his misfiring team face an improving Bologna before visiting Lombardy neighbours Atalanta at the weekend.
While Inter have scored nine goals across their last two home games against the Rossoblu, they will now be confronted by opponents buoyed by recent results - and led by a former Nerazzurri hero.
© Reuters
A member of the famous 2010 treble-winning squad, ex-Inter midfielder Thiago Motta may have taken some time to get his feet under the table in Bologna, but has inspired quite a turnaround of late.
Secured by a second-half comeback at Dall'Ara, victory over Torino on Saturday brought up four straight wins for the Emilian outfit, which has put them into the next round of the cup and lifted them clear of Serie A's drop zone.
Following a Coppa Italia success against Cagliari last month, which kicked off their revival, Bologna posted back-to-back wins over promoted sides before toppling a Torino team fresh from beating reigning champions Milan.
The Rossoblu are therefore up to 12th in the table - only five places behind Wednesday's hosts - and now seek to establish their best winning run in the top-flight since 1967 by taking three points home from the second city.
Amid the groundswell of hope, though, the reality of their slow start to the campaign is still in the rearview mirror: Bologna have lost more points from winning positions than any other Serie A side this season (14), and they have not won consecutive away games in the league since this time last year.
Team News
© Reuters
Though they had little to celebrate at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday, Inter at least welcomed back midfield fulcrum Marcelo Brozovic from a thigh problem which had ruled him out of action for several weeks.
After making a brief cameo in the Nerazzurri's defeat to Juventus, the Croatia international may again start on the bench in midweek, with either Roberto Gagliardini or Kristjan Asllani possibly brought in for some tired legs - and minds - in the hosts' engine room.
Facing a race against time to make the World Cup, Romelu Lukaku recently suffered another setback and misses out again; in his absence, Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa compete to partner Lautaro Martinez up front. Dzeko has previously scored seven league goals against Bologna - his second-best tally versus a single side.
Meanwhile, Marko Arnautovic's return to San Siro should see the Austrian striker nearing full fitness, after making a comeback from injury at the weekend. The Bologna striker, who played his first three Serie A matches for Inter in the 2009-10 campaign, has scored three times away from home so far this season.
Scottish midfielder Lewis Ferguson will hope to keep his place in support of the visitors' lone frontman, but Riccardo Orsolini pushed his claim to start with a decisive intervention on Saturday; scoring within eight minutes of coming on as a substitute.
Thiago Motta should only have injured centre-back Kevin Bonifazi sidelined again, so may name an almost unchanged XI in order to maintain momentum.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Onana; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Gagliardini, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Soumaoro, Lucumi, Lykogiannis; Medel, Schouten; Orsolini, Dominguez, Barrow; Arnautovic
We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Bologna
Inter and Bologna have not drawn in Serie A since September 2017 - with the Nerazzurri winning six of the clubs' last nine meetings - and that trend should continue on Wednesday night. For all their flaws, the home side have been reliable on San Siro soil for many months now, so can take all their in-form visitors have to throw at them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
