Inter Milan will return to Serie A duty on Saturday night in an effort to regain lost ground by defeating struggling Sampdoria after securing their place in the Champions League’s last-16.
Midweek saw Samp earn their first league victory of the season at Cremonese, while Inter rolled to their fifth victory in as many games. Former Nerazzurri star Dejan Stankovic is now back at San Siro looking to cause a major upset.
Inter defeated pointless Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday to advance to the competition’s knockout round for the second consecutive year after previously taking 4 points from Barcelona in Champions League Group C.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan got things started at San Siro, having scored the game-winning goal in last week’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Fiorentina. Edin Dzeko then notched a brace, and Romelu Lukaku, who had been out for several weeks with a thigh injury, then scored from the bench.
Since losing to Roma at the beginning of the month, Inter has recovered with five victories and a draw as they try to bounce back from a slow start to the season that has left them outside of Italy’s top six.
Following victories over Sassuolo and Salernitana, Simone Inzaghi’s team also prevailed in a nail-biting match at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday. After Fiorentina’s Luka Jovic had tied the score in the 90th minute, Mkhitaryan was able to steal the victory in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The Nerazzurri have scored the highest number of any Serie A team in the first 15 minutes of action this season, whereas the Saturday’s opponents have given up the most goals throughout this crucial period.
That is encouraging for Inzaghi’s efforts to keep Inter’s winning streak going, and it doesn’t hurt that the Milan giants have defeated Sampdoria eight times out of their last nine league encounters. In fact, they have swept the last five meetings between the clubs at San Siro.
Sampdoria will face history and recent form when they travel to Lombardy this weekend to face Inter, having only managed one victory in their previous 20 league trips.
Dejan Stankovic, the new Samp coach, has experience winning at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, having contributed to the Nerazzurri’s memorable treble victory in 2010.
The former Serbian midfielder already appears to be having an effect on his struggling players, as they overcame a loss to Roma to advance on penalties in the Coppa Italia before recording their first victory in Serie A of the year on Monday.
Omar Colley’s 78th-minute goal gave the Blucerchiati a 1-0 victory over fellow winless team Cremonese despite having to withstand a lot of pressure. The Blucerchiati are now looking to win two straight league games for the first time since last November.
Colley’s goal in Cremona, along with Sampdoria’s cup run, which included a dramatic 9-8 shootout victory and Francesco Caputo’s 118th-minute equaliser, may serve as the impetus for a comeback under Stankovic after Marco Giampaolo’s disastrous tenure at Marassi.
The former Red Star Belgrade manager will try to move his team up from their current position of 18th in the standings before they play Fiorentina in the Coppa’s last-16 early in the following year.
Samp has won just two of their last 16 away games, so improving their road performance could be a crucial step in that direction, but continuing their upward trend on Saturday is a very big ask.
Romelu Lukaku should play again on Saturday as a substitute after scoring on his comeback in midweek, while two of Joaquin Correa, Lautaro Martinez, and Edin Dzeko start up front.
The latter has previously scored six goals against Sampdoria, but he hasn’t scored in his last seven league games at San Siro; this is his longest streak at home without a goal since mid-2019. Meanwhile, Martinez has attempted the most shots (43) and shots on goal (15) in Serie A thus far this season. He has also been involved in four goals in his last two league games.
While Marcelo Brozovic is still some time away from returning from a thigh injury, Lukaku has finally fully recovered, and Simone Inzaghi has a fully fit squad to choose from. Therefore, despite a busy schedule that includes a trip to Munich the following week, he could make some adjustments.
Harry Winks’ Serie A debut is still on hold, and Sampdoria will be without the injured defender Jeison Murillo this weekend in addition to the midfielder who is still out.
Against Cremonese, goalkeeper Emil Audero kept a crucial clean sheet, earning praise from his manager. He starts in back of a back four that also includes captain Bartosz Bereszynski at right-back.
Francesco Caputo, who has only scored once in 10 previous league encounters with Inter, should start up front and be supported by Manolo Gabbiadini.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Onana; Skriniar, De Vrij, Acerbi; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Correa, Lautaro Martinez
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Emil Audero; Bereszynski, Amione, Colley, Augello; Rincon, Villar; Gabbiadini, Sabiri, Djuricic; Caputo
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