Inter look to under-fire Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic in a must-win match with Cagliari, who are remarkably just one point behind.
It kicks off at San Siro at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), follow the action from all today’s Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.
The Nerazzurri’s hopes of a title push are crumbling after a hard-fought 2-1 defeat at Roma and the break for international duty won’t have helped Frank de Boer get his team united.
Inter look to under-fire Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic in a must-win match with Cagliari, who are remarkably just one point behind.
It kicks off at San Siro at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), follow the action from all today’s Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.
The Nerazzurri’s hopes of a title push are crumbling after a hard-fought 2-1 defeat at Roma and the break for international duty won’t have helped Frank de Boer get his team united.
He does seem to have found his favoured formation at least, a 4-2-3-1 system with Joao Mario and Gary Medel pulling the midfield strings, Antonio Candreva, Ever Banega and Perisic fanning out behind centre-forward Icardi.
The game has been overshadowed by a huge row over Icardi’s autobiography, as this morning the Curva Nord ultras group demanded the “clown” be stripped of the captain’s armband.
More banners, chants and protests are expected in the stands this afternoon.
Geoffrey Kondogbia is dropped again and Marcelo Brozovic has a spot on the bench after almost a month on the naughty step, but Felipe Melo, Marco Andreolli, Andrea Ranocchia and Jonathan Biabiany are injured.
Cagliari were promoted after winning the Serie B tournament and are remarkably only one point behind powerhouses Inter going into this clash.
Veteran hitman Borriello has been a revelation, but is surprisingly benched in favour of Federico Melchiorri, who starts with support from Marco Sau and Davide Di Gennaro.
Melchiorri has, its safe to say, been through the wringer. His career was at risk when he needed brain surgery to remove a cavernoma – irregular cluster of blood vessels – in 2009, then ruptured a knee ligament in April and made his return in September.
Injuries continue to rule out Diego Farias, Artur Ionita and Joao Pedro, but 39-year-old Marco Storari returns in goal after his injury lay-off.
It’s worth noting that the Sardinians have lost all three of their away fixtures this season, scoring two goals and conceding nine.
Nonetheless, they’ve won three of the last four rounds and aim to counter-attack against what has looked like a shaky Inter back four.
Cagliari have a surprisingly good record in this fixture, as they emerged 4-1 winners last time in September 2014 and are unbeaten in three Serie A visits.
Inter: Handanovic; Ansaldi, Murillo, Miranda, Santon; Joao Mario, Medel; Candreva, Banega, Perisic; Icardi
Inter bench: Carrizo, Kondogbia, Palacio, Jovetic, Eder, Gnoukouri, D’Ambrosio, Nagatomo, Brozovic, Yao, Miangue, Gabriel Barbosa
Cagliari: Storari; Pisacane, Ceppitelli, Alves, Murru; Munari, Tachtsidis, Padoin; Di Gennaro; Sau, Melchiorri
Cagliari bench: Rafael, Colombo, Isla, Dessena, Barella, Borriello, Capuano, Bittante, Giannetti, Salamon