Inter Milan will aim to bounce back from their defeat at the weekend as they host a Fiorentina side struggling to stay relevant in the league.

Cristian Chivu will want his players to refocus after a terrible outing at the weekend. Not only did Inter Milan squander the chance to go top of the league, their hosts at the weekend, Napoli, managed a comfortable win and are currently at the summit of the Serie A standings ahead of the Nerazzurri’s next assignment against Fiorentina.

Inter Milan were the in-form team in Italy heading to Napoli, but Antonio Conte taught a tough lesson to the less-experienced Chivu. The Nerazzurri have little time to reflect, as they will want to bounce back on Wednesday, when they take on Fiorentina at San Siro.

Ideally, they will carry the favourites tag heading into this clash with the Viola, and a win on Wednesday should keep them in the fourth spot at the very least. However, should their rivals above, such as AC Milan or AS Roma, falter, Inter will have the chance of climbing up the standings.

Meanwhile, Stefano Pioli returns to San Siro just over a week after suffering a defeat at the hands of his former side, AC Milan. Now, he will lead Fiorentina at the venue in the hope of not repeating that result and registering a first league win of the season with the Viola.

Fiorentina are thoroughly struggling for relevance in the league, as they are currently in the relegation zone following the action at the weekend. On Sunday, the Viola faced Bologna at home, and were two goals down and out at one stage.

However, two penalties on either side of a Bologna red card salvaged a point for Fiorentina, who maintained their unbeaten run at home and stretched it to four games now. However, Dodo had the chance to snatch a victory in the 99th minute but missed his gilt-edged chance at the death. With the team languishing inside the relegation zone, the pressure is truly on Pioli to deliver, but the tough fixtures are not likely to help his cause.

Team News & Tactics

Inter Milan

There are some injury issues for Inter Milan ahead of the game against Fiorentina, as Marcus Thuram is yet to return and not expected to feature in the midweek Serie A tie. There was a new issue at the weekend, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan limped off after conceding the penalty to Napoli, and he is widely expected to miss out on this home clash.

In his place, Petar Sucic could be deployed alongside Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella in the Inter Milan midfield setup. Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco are the preferred candidates for the wing-back roles.

At the back, Cristian Chivu is not expected to make any surprise changes as Francesco Acerbi, Manuel Akanji and Alessandro Bastoni are the expected defenders in the back three.

Meanwhile, Chivu must decide between Ange-Yoan Bonny and Francesco Pio Esposito to play alongside Lautaro Martinez, with the former likely to get the nod against Fiorentina owing to his recent performances for Inter Milan.

Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Acerbi, Akanji, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Susic, Dimarco’ Martinez, Bonny

Fiorentina

Stefano Pioli must make do without Christian Kouame and Antonin Barak for this clash, while Tariq Lamptey is also confirmed to be absent. The Fiorentina boss might persist with his iteration of the 3-4-3 against Inter Milan, and he is hoping to have some impetus in the attacking third with the shape.

Nicolo Fagioli and Simon Sohm are expected to form the midfield pivot for the Viola, with Robin Gosens and Dodo reprising the wing-back roles, as the manager hopes the duo will provide more support to those up front.

At the back, a three-man defence of Luca Ranieri, Marin Pongracic and Pietro Comuzzo are expected to take their places. Cher Ndour and Albert Gudmundsson will play in the front three, with Moise Kean leading the line for Fiorentina against Inter Milan at San Siro.

Probable Lineup (3-4-3): de Gea; Ranieri, Pongracic, Comuzzo; Dodo, Fagioli, Sohm, Gosens; Ndour, Kean, Gudmundsson

Key Stats

• Inter are undefeated in 17 of their last 19 matches against Fiorentina in all competitions.
• Inter Milan have scored 19 goals this season in the league, which is more than any other side this season.
• Fiorentina have failed to win their last eight matches in Serie A.
• Fiorentina are winless in Serie A this season.

Player to Watch

Lautaro Martinez

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Cristian Chivu would want his skipper to step up at the right time to elevate Inter Milan’s chances this season to win the Serie A title first and foremost. Martinez has scored eight times across all competitions in 14 games so far, and only three of those have come in Serie A.

The Argentine international has gone the last two games without a goal, and Chivu would feel this home clash could be the right time to get his bearings right. Martinez would need a goal to elevate his confidence levels, and in the absence of regular partner Marcus Thuram, the pressure is on the Inter Milan skipper to deliver.

Prediction

Inter Milan 3-1 Fiorentina

Fiorentina will once again travel to a big ground under severe pressure, and another loss could add more scrutiny on Pioli. The Viola are winless in Serie A, and there would be no better team to register their first of the season against, although the prospects of beating Inter Milan look bleak given how much they struggled against Bologna at the weekend.

Inter Milan are likely to use this clash a a measure to bounce back from their defeat at the weekend to Napoli. The idea for Chivu is to get a win to keep the league leaders in sight, as the Nerazzurri are the overwhelming favourites to take three points and keep hold of their fourth spot at the very least after the midweek games.