After a week to forget at home and abroad, Inter Milan aim to bounce back against Torino on Saturday evening, in their third straight game at San Siro.
Beaten in both the Derby della Madonnina and their Champions League opener over the past few days, the Nerazzurri now welcome an improving away side to Milan.
Match preview
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Having relinquished the Scudetto to Milan in May, with something of a late-season choke, there was significant pressure on Inter heading into last weekend's derby - even at this early stage of the 2022-23 campaign.
Critics of coach Simone Inzaghi had further ammunition to aim in his direction at the conclusion of what proved to be a pulsating encounter, as they lost a one-goal lead and suffered a 3-2 defeat against their Rossonero rivals.
Though substitute Edin Dzeko pulled a goal back soon after his introduction from the bench, Inter's capitulation to Rafael Leao-inspired opponents left them with two losses from their last three Serie A fixtures, following a 3-1 reverse against Inzaghi's old club Lazio at the end of last month.
Then, in midweek, the Nerazzurri failed to make the most of home advantage in their first match in Group C of the Champions League; barely bothering Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in a 2-0 defeat to the perennial German champions.
In a section also featuring in-form Barcelona, the odds of Inter reaching the knockout stage for a second year running have already increased, and with his side sitting eighth in the early Serie A standings, Inzaghi must improve results fast.
Precedent will be on his side on Saturday, though, as Inter have won each of their last six Serie A home games; always scoring at least twice in the process. Not only that, but they have gone unbeaten against Torino since 2019: winning five times and then drawing the clubs' most recent meeting in March.
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Though Torino continued their upturn under Ivan Juric with that 1-1 draw against the then-champions in Turin, they have actually lost each of their last three games away to Inter in Serie A; conceding eight goals.
Nonetheless, Juric, who has recently been away from the touchline due to illness, has evolved the struggling side he inherited last year into one that is remarkably tough to beat - and one possessing a certain amount of resilience.
After suffering their first defeat of the season, to current leaders Atalanta, Torino bounced back immediately with a 1-0 win at home to promoted Lecce on Monday.
Summer signing Nikola Vlasic - who had opened his account with a strike against Cremonese last week and was also on target in that loss to La Dea - struck for a third straight game and lifted Il Toro to sixth in the Serie A standings: one point and one place above arch-rivals Juventus.
Victories over all three teams freshly up from Serie B may have put a gloss on their tally to date, but the Granata have only failed to score in one game so far - a 0-0 draw with Lazio, who then went on to put three past Inter.
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Team News
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Following his decision to rest two stalwarts of the Inter side against Bayern, Simone Inzaghi is set to bring both captain Samir Handanovic and midfield regular Nicolo Barella back into the starting XI on Saturday.
Therefore, back-up goalkeeper Andre Onana returns to the bench after finally making his debut for the Nerazzurri, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan may also miss out.
In the continued absence of Romelu Lukaku due to a thigh injury, Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa once again battle it out to partner Lautaro Martinez in the hosts' front pairing - Correa is favourite, as his ageing rival played 70 minutes on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, since Andrea Belotti's departure for Roma, Torino's chief goal threat comes through Nikola Vlasic, who has scored in each of his last three appearances: the Croatian forward now aims to be the first Toro signing to score four times in their first six starts for the club since 1992.
He should support Antonio Sanabria or former Milan striker Pietro Pellegri up front, in the visitors' 3-4-2-1 formation. Only Aleksei Miranchuk and Samuele Ricci are expected to be ruled out by injury.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Correa, Martinez
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Schuurs, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Singo, Lukic, Linetty, Vojvoda; Radonjic, Vlasic; Sanabria
We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Torino
Remarkably, only rock-bottom Monza have conceded more goals than Inter in the second half of Serie A matches this season, so even if they can break down obdurate opponents, they may not have it their own way until the final whistle. By the finest of margins, though, the hosts should find a way to take all three points.
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