Inter Milan hopes to bounce back quickly when they host Bologna on Wednesday after losing in last week’s Derby d’Italia. With only two games left before the World Cup break, Inter Milan is outside of the top six in Serie A.
After losing to a struggling Juventus team, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi is under intense pressure to win at San Siro, especially against the team that all but ended their Scudetto hopes the previous season.
Old rivals Juventus and Inter met in Turin to compete in the most recent Derby d’Italia, both clubs in need of points as they fell behind in the Serie A title race.
The Nerazzurri recently secured advancement to the Champions League’s last 16, where they’ll face Porto in February, but despite outperforming their hosts on the European stage, they were slow and lackluster in a 2-0 loss on Sunday evening, as Juve sprung out of their own doldrums and jumped above them in the table.
Simone Inzaghi’s team has fallen some 11 points behind unrelenting leaders Napoli, giving them a mountain to climb in 2023 after narrowly missing out on a second consecutive Scudetto in May when a late loss in Bologna effectively handed the title to Milan.
Inter has now given up 16 of their 19 goals away from home, losing four times, and was also defeated at Bayern Munich the previous week. However, Inter has performed much better when playing at their Milanese base. In fact, they have won five of their last seven Serie A home games while keeping a clean sheet, and they have long since dominated at San Siro.
As his struggling team faces an improving Bologna on Wednesday before travelling to Lombardy neighbours Atalanta at the weekend, Inzaghi may need to rely on such home comforts.
Inter has defeated the Rossoblu in their last two home games by a combined score of nine goals, but they will now face opponents who are motivated by recent victories and are led by a former Nerazzurri hero.
Former Inter midfielder Thiago Motta, a member of the storied 2010 treble-winning team, may have needed some time to settle in at Bologna, but he has recently inspired a significant turnaround. The Emilian team’s victory over Torino on Saturday, secured by a second-half comeback at Dall’Ara, made it four straight victories for them, moving them into the next round of the cup and out of Serie A’s relegation zone.
Bologna’s comeback was launched by their Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari last month. After that, they posted back-to-back victories over promoted teams before defeating a Torino squad that had just defeated reigning champions Milan.
As a result, the Rossoblu have moved up to 12th place in the standings, just five spots behind Wednesday’s opponents. They are now attempting to start their best winning streak in the top division since 1967 by bringing three points back from the second city.
The reality of Bologna’s slow start to the season, however, is still in the rearview mirror amid the groundswell of optimism: Bologna have lost more points from winning positions this season than any other Serie A team, and they haven’t won back-to-back away games in the league since this time last year.
Inter Team News
Despite having little to cheer about on Sunday at the Allianz Stadium, Inter did at least welcome Marcelo Brozovic back from a thigh injury that had kept him out of action for several weeks.
The Croatian international may once again start on the bench in midweek, with either Roberto Gagliardini or Kristjan Asllani possibly being brought in for some weary legs—and minds—in the hosts’ engine room. The Croatian international made a brief cameo in the Nerazzurri’s defeat to Juventus.
Romelu Lukaku is in a race against time to qualify for the World Cup, but he recently suffered another setback and is out once more. Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa are competing to partner Lautaro Martinez up front in his place. Dzeko’s previous league goal total against Bologna was seven, which ranks as his second-best total against a single team.
Inter possible starting lineup:
Onana; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Gagliardini, Dimarco; Correa, Lautaro Martinez
Bologna Team News
After returning from injury over the weekend, Marko Arnautovic’s return to San Siro should mark the Austrian striker’s close to full fitness. The Bologna striker has three goals so far this season while playing away from home. He played his first three Serie A games for Inter during the 2009–10 season.
Lewis Ferguson, a Scottish midfielder, will hope to maintain his position as the only forward for the visitors, but Riccardo Orsolini strengthened his case to start on Saturday by scoring just eight minutes after being substituted. Kevin Bonifazi, the injured centre back, should only be sidelined once more, so Thiago Motta might start with almost the same lineup to keep things going.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Soumaoro, Lucumi; Aebischer, Medel, Schouten, Cambiaso; Orsolini, Barrow; Marko Arnautovic
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