Following their crucial Derby d'Italia triumph last weekend, Inter Milan aim to continue their defence of the Scudetto with another win over Hellas Verona on Saturday evening.
Having enjoyed historical dominance over the Veneto outfit, the Nerazzurri will be faced by one of Serie A's most improved sides, who consolidated their top-half place with Monday's win over Genoa.
Match preview
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Belatedly claiming their first away win of 2022, Inter finally tasted Serie A success outside of Milan in perhaps their most important game of the season so far, as they edged out Juventus 1-0 last Sunday.
In the process surely eliminating Juve from the title race, Hakan Calhanoglu's re-taken penalty in first half stoppage-time ultimately proved the difference between the two bitter foes, and the Nerazzurri now lead their Bianconero counterparts by four points in the standings with a game still in hand.
Victory in Turin sees Simone Inzaghi's side seeking their first back-to-back league wins since the turn of the year, as since January - when they enjoyed an 11-point lead over Juventus and topped the table - an exit from the Champions League has accompanied a run of only 11 points from 10 Serie A matches.
As a result of such a slump, the champions have 11 fewer points than from their first 30 games played in Serie A last season, yet they still remain in the mix for Scudetto glory - starting the weekend just four behind city rivals Milan, with an extra fixture to play as their trump card.
The visit of Verona should hold few fears either, based solely on precedent, as following a 3-1 win at Stadio Bentegodi earlier this season, Saturday's opponents are the team Inter have faced the most without ever tasting defeat since the turn of the century.
Unbeaten against them in 21 games - featuring 17 wins and four draws - the last time they lost against the Scaligeri came over 30 years ago: back in February 1992.
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Not only have Verona been subjugated throughout their many meetings with Inter in recent history, they have never won at all in 30 Serie A away matches against the Nerazzurri.
With a record of 11 draws and 19 defeats, the Gialloblu have failed to even score in 22 of the clubs' encounters in Milan, so the weight of history is certainly against them this weekend.
After their 1-0 win against Genoa on Monday, though, Hellas have secured their grip on ninth spot in the standings with seven games left to play and are only seven points adrift of the European qualification places.
Leading scorer Giovanni Simeone provided the decisive strike early on at the Bentegodi, in a game of few chances for either side; sealing a 12th league victory of the season.
That will have come as a relief to coach Igor Tudor, who saw his side pick up just two points from their previous three matches, and with the Scaligeri now having lost only one of their last seven in the league, they can travel to San Siro in hope of causing an upset.
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Team News
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Having been sidelined by a calf injury sustained against Liverpool last month, Stefan de Vrij returned as an unused substitute in the Derby d'Italia, and the Dutch defender is now fit enough to contend for a place in the Inter back three.
Though Lautaro Martinez is suspended and should be replaced by either Alexis Sanchez or Joaquin Correa up front, Simone Inzaghi has no new injury concerns and is expected to name an otherwise unchanged starting lineup, with last week's match winner Hakan Calhanoglu playing an instrumental role in midfield.
The former Milan man has scored in two of his three previous San Siro outings versus Verona and has been involved in 15 goals (seven of his own; eight assists) in Serie A this season. Among midfielders, only Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (18) has managed more.
Meanwhile, Verona's injury list still features Pawel Dawidowicz, Gianluca Frabotta and back-up goalkeeper Ivor Pandur, while support striker Antonin Barak is considered doubtful.
If passed fit in time, the Czech star - who has already reached double figures this term - will support Giovanni Simeone in attack, with the latter scoring 16 goals in 29 Serie A appearances to date, while on loan from Cagliari.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; De Vrij, Skriniar, D'Ambrosio; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Correa, Dzeko
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Casale, Gunter, Ceccherini; Faraoni, Tameze, Ilic, Lazovic; Caprari, Bessa; Simeone
We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Hellas Verona
This encounter will see the team that has recovered the most points from losing positions in Serie A this season - Inter, with 19 - face opponents who have lost the most when leading: Verona having spilled a total of 22.
So, even if the visitors are to take the lead on Saturday - which is unlikely in itself, given the champions have conceded just twice in seven games - they can expect to be under the cosh, in the first match with San Siro at full capacity for over two years.
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 69.4%. A draw had a probability of 18.1% and a win for Hellas Verona had a probability of 12.53%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.06%) and 2-1 (9.67%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.54%), while for a Hellas Verona win it was 0-1 (3.77%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Inter Milan in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Inter Milan.
