Having secured a third straight Supercoppa Italiana earlier this week, Inter Milan resume their pursuit of the Scudetto on Sunday, when they visit Fiorentina at Stadio Franchi.
While Inter's absence allowed old foes Juventus to move clear at the top of Serie A, their hosts - who lost in the Supercoppa semi-finals - remain in the mix for a top-four finish.
Match preview
© Reuters
Again confirming coach Simone Inzaghi's status as a serial cup-winner, Inter's mid-season trip to Saudi Arabia resulted in more silverware; after sweeping aside Lazio in the semi-finals, Monday's decider saw the Milan giants defeat Napoli.
After the reigning Serie A champions went down to 10 men with half an hour remaining, Inter talisman Lautaro Martinez struck in the first minute of stoppage time to claim victory for the Coppa Italia holders, who now return to Italy with a mission to complete.
Although Juventus took advantage of their absence to snatch top spot in the table, the Nerazzurri have two games in hand and are determined to prevail in the Scudetto race.
While AC Milan remain on the pair's coat-tails, it could ultimately be a head-to-head fight for the title - Sunday's fixture in Florence precedes a potentially decisive Derby d'Italia contest with Juve next weekend.
Inter warmed up for their jaunt to the Middle East with a 5-1 thrashing of nearby Monza, taking them over 50 points after 20 matches for only the second time in their long and illustrious Serie A history, and have won each of their first four games in 2024.
Inzaghi's men now reconvene with the team they conquered in last year's Coppa Italia final: Inter are unbeaten in six league visits to Stadio Franchi and are aiming to win four straight away games against Fiorentina for the very first time.
© Reuters
In addition to their cup-final heartbreak, Sunday's hosts have won only one of their last 13 top-flight meetings with Inter - a 1-0 victory at San Siro last April, which was decided by Giacomo Bonaventura's goal.
The Viola suffered a 4-0 defeat in this season's reverse fixture, though, and the nature of their three-goal loss to Napoli in last week's Supercoppa semis will be cause for concern.
While they started the weekend inside Italy's top four, Fiorentina have stuttered at the start of the new year, taking one point from their first two league outings of 2024 - a disappointing defeat in Sassuolo, followed by an eventful 2-2 home draw with Udinese.
Vincenzo Italiano's side have also failed to score in three of their last four matches - one of which was played over 120 minutes and ended in a penalty shootout win over Bologna.
Nonetheless, they remain in contention to go one better than last season's final defeat in the Europa Conference League and have booked a Coppa Italia semi-final against Atalanta BC.
A lack of regular goals from summer signings Lucas Beltran and M'Bala Nzola has proved a source of frustration - for Italiano and for fans of the Tuscan club - but both found the net against Udinese and will hope that heralds brighter times ahead.
Team News
© Reuters
Although Alessandro Bastoni has returned from injury and is now available for selection, the Inter defender may not be risked from the start, with next week's clash against Juventus being Simone Inzaghi's top priority.
The visitors will have to make changes in midfield, as both Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu are suspended. With the latter on the pitch, Inter have a 72% success rate in Serie A matches over the past two seasons, without him, that drops to just 20%.
Davide Frattesi and Kristjan Asllani are set to step into the Nerazzurri's central trio, while captain and top scorer Lautaro Martinez again partners Marcus Thuram up front - both scored in September's reverse fixture at San Siro.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, will be without their skipper on Sunday evening, as former Inter loanee Cristiano Biraghi is sidelined by a one-match ban; Fabiano Parisi should therefore feature at left-back.
Dodo and Nico Gonzalez have recently resumed full training, but only the latter is in contention to start; Gaetano Castrovilli remains unavailable and Christian Kouame is representing hosts Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Ex-Milan midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura has been directly involved in eight Serie A goals against Inter to date - five of his own and three assists - and will link up with either Lucas Beltran or M'Bala Nzola in the final third.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Kayode, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Parisi; Duncan, Arthur; Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Sottil; Beltran
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Acerbi; Darmian, Frattesi, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Augusto; Thuram, Martinez
We say: Fiorentina 1-2 Inter Milan
Fiorentina's build-up play can be impressive, but too often they stumble in and around the opposition area. As Inter are a ruthless winning machine, the Nerazzurri can take advantage of any slip-ups by their hosts and post a fifth win on the spin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
