Overview
After a period of struggling since being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan has finally regained light with a series of positive results.
The blue and black team opened with a 5-2 victory over Roma, before continuing to show their bravery in a top match. They came back to defeat Como 4-3 right on the away field.
Despite being led by 2 goals until the end of the first half, Nerazzurri still rose up strongly to complete an impressive comeback. Notably, in the same round, two direct competitors, Napoli and AC Milan, both stumbled, creating conditions for Inter to increase their advantage.
This victory helps Cristian Chivu's team widen the lead gap to 9 points when the season is only 6 rounds away. With this momentum, Inter can completely create a two-digit gap before their opponents return to play.
The scenario of collapse is almost unlikely to happen, and Chivu's first season may even close with a domestic double title. In the immediate future, they will enter the Coppa Italy semi-final against Como right in Milan next week.
In Serie A this season, Inter has scored 75 goals - at least 19 more than any other team - while maintaining a 9-match unbeaten streak at home at San Siro.
If they continue to maintain their form, Inter can completely move closer to the championship when they successively welcome Cagliari and then Como.
Head-to-head statistics also support the home team. After a 2-0 victory away from home in the first leg, Inter is unbeaten in 12 encounters with Cagliari, winning 7/8 recent matches.
In the opposite direction, Cagliari often encounters difficulties when traveling to San Siro. They have never kept a clean sheet here in 26 consecutive matches, and conceded an average of 2.2 goals per match.
However, the Sardinian team has just regained hope after a streak of 8 winless matches. The 1-0 victory over Cremonese last week helped them temporarily escape relegation pressure.
The hero of the match was Sebastiano Esposito - a player from Inter who is playing on loan - with the only goal that brought 3 valuable points, helping Cagliari create a 6-point gap with the relegation group.
However, their away form is still a big problem. Cagliari has lost 3/4 of their recent away games and has not kept a clean sheet in 9 consecutive matches. Therefore, getting points against the leading team Inter will be an extremely difficult task.
Personnel situation
The squad situation of Inter Milan is having certain changes, especially in attack. After the highly anticipated comeback at the beginning of the month, captain Lautaro Martinez has to sit out again due to a thigh muscle injury and is expected to be absent from some upcoming matches.
In that context, his partner Marcus Thuram promptly regained his form. After scoring twice against Como, the French striker has reached the milestone of 10 goals in Serie A this season.
On Cagliari's side, two long-term injuries Mattia Felici and Riyad Idrissi continue to be unable to participate. However, the away team may welcome good news when veteran striker Leonardo Pavoletti is likely to return to the bench.
However, Cagliari's midfield still faces the risk of being short of players when Luca Mazzitelli is uncertain to play due to a thigh injury sustained in the match against Cremonese.
Expected lineup:
Inter Milan: Sommer, Akanji, Acerbi, Augusto, Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco, Thuram, P. Esposito.
Caprile, Ze Pedro, Mina, Rodriguez, Palestra, Folorunsho, Gaetano, Deiola, Obert, S. Esposito, Borrelli.
The match between Inter Milan and Cagliari takes place at 1:45 am on April 18 (Vietnam time).
