Seeking to extend their nine-point lead at the Serie A summit, title hopefuls Inter Milan welcome Champions League-chasing Atalanta BC to San Siro on Wednesday night.
The two teams meet for the first time since November last year when goals from Hakan Calhanoglu and Lautaro Martinez secured a 2-1 away victory for the Nerazzurri.
Match preview
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Inter Milan have preserved their perfect record in 2024 after they emphatically put Lecce to the sword 4-0 away from home on Sunday to put themselves in the driving seat for a second Scudetto in four seasons.
Star striker Martinez scored his 24th and 25th goals of the campaign in all competitions, while Davide Frattesi and Stefan de Vrij were also on the scoresheet against Lecce to help the Nerazzurri claim their 10th consecutive victory since the turn of the year.
Not only have Simone Inzaghi's men lost just one of their 25 Serie A matches this season, they have also scored the most (61) and conceded the fewest (12) goals in the division, and another success on Wednesday would see them move 12 points clear of second-placed Juventus with 13 games left to play.
Inter will endeavour to win a seventh successive Serie A game at the start of a calendar year for the first time in their history when they lock horns with Atalanta, whom they have had plenty of joy against in recent seasons.
Indeed, the Nerazzurri have come out on top in each of their last four meetings with Atalanta in all tournaments, while they have not lost any of their previous 10 top-flight encounters with La Dea – their longest-ever unbeaten run against the Bergamo-based outfit.
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Atalanta cannot be completely written off on Wednesday, though, as they also boast a 10-game unbeaten run in 2024 across all competitions, accumulating 17 points from seven Serie A fixtures in the process.
La Dea are gearing up for their second trip to San Siro in the space of just three days after playing out a 1-1 draw with AC Milan last weekend; Teun Koopmeiners salvaged a point when he scored a controversially-given penalty kick on the stroke of half time to cancel out an early opener from Rafael Leao.
After finishing fifth in Serie A last season, Gian Piero Gasperini's side find themselves in the same position after 25 games this term, although they are only two points behind surprise packages Bologna in fourth spot.
While Atalanta boast the joint second-best home record in Serie A this season, their form away from home has not been so consistent as they have won four, drawn three and lost five of their 12 top-flight matches on the road, winning just one of their last six in the process.
La Dea have also struggled to grind out positive results away against Inter, as they have failed to win any of their last nine league meetings with the Nerazzurri at San Siro since claiming back-to-back victories in April 2013 (3-4) and March 2014 (1-2).
Team News
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Inter Milan quartet Marcus Thuram, Juan Cuadrado (both Achilles), Francesco Acerbi (muscle) and Stefano Sensi (ankle) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Yann Sommer is doubtful with a virus that forced him to miss last weekend's win at Lecce.
Emil Audero will once again deputise between the sticks if Sommer is not passed fit to play, while Inzaghi will ponder whether to continue with Yann Aurel Bisseck and Carlos Augusto in the back three with De Vrij, or recall both Benjamin Pavard and Alessandro Bastoni.
Nicolo Barella will be pushing to return in centre-midfield at the expense of Kristjan Asllani, while Alexis Sanchez could get the nod over Marko Arnautovic to start alongside Martinez up front.
As for Atalanta, they have clean bill of health heading into Wednesday's fixture, with Ademola Lookman the most recent first-team player to make his return after a spell out with an ankle issue.
Lookman came on at half time against Milan last time out, but he could be recalled to the first XI at the expense of Aleksei Miranchuk to join Charles De Ketelaere up front.
Gasperini is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, but one alteration that may be considered is the return of Davide Zappacosta at right wing-back for Emil Holm.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Audero; Bisseck, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Frattesi, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Sanchez, Martinez
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Lookman, De Ketelaere
We say: Inter Milan 3-1 Atalanta BC
An entertaining end-to-end contest is to be expected on Wednesday as an average of 3.4 goals have been scored across the last five Serie A meetings between these two in-form teams.
Confidence is flowing among both camps, but it is difficult to look beyond a home victory for a rampant title-chasing Inter outfit, who boast an impressive head-to-head record over their Bergamo-based counterparts.
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Oliver Thomas
