Inter Milan begin the defence of their Serie A title with an opening day trip to Genoa. The Nerazzurri often get the better of Genoa and will be confident of starting with a comfortable victory on Saturday.
Genoa have reasons to feel satisfied with their 2023/24 campaign as they finished a respectable 11th on the standings. They were particularly impressive towards the end of the season, suffering just one defeat in their final five matches.
That form appears to have held up in preseason as they picked up four wins from five matches. While Alberto Gilardino’s men mostly faced lower league sides, they did claim a 2-1 victory over Monaco before edging out Reggiana 1-0 in the first round of the Coppa Italia last weekend.
Inter Milan were far and away the best team in Serie A last season as they finished 19 points clear at the top of the table. Simeone Inzaghi’s men only suffered two defeats and are the outright favourites to defend their title this term.
The Nerazzurri have been quite strategic in the transfer market, holding on to key players like Lautaro Martinez while bringing in Mehdi Taremi and Piotr Zielinski. Pre-season was a bit erratic as they began well enough but ended without a win in their final three matches, playing out a 1-1 draw with Chelsea last weekend.
How the bookies view: Nerazzurri still top dogs
Inter Milan have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 8/13 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Genoa is valued at 9/2 while Betfred is also offering odds of 3/1 for a draw.
Head to head: Nerazzurri always on top
Inter Milan have a fine record in this fixture and are unbeaten in the last 10 matches against Genoa. They have claimed eight wins in that run, although the last two meetings at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris have ended in draws.
Players to watch: Thuram to show quality
Marcus Thuram had an impressive debut campaign for Inter Milan last season and will be looking to build on that this term. The forward was on target against Chelsea and could be worth keeping an eye on 6/4 with Betfred.
Albert Gudmundsson was the top scorer for Genoa last season with 14 goals and remains their biggest attacking threat. The striker is priced at odds of 3/1 by Betfred to get on the score sheet on Saturday.
Probable line-ups
Albert Gudmundsson missed the Coppa Italia, with Inter Milan rumoured to be interested. However, the striker is likely to feature in Saturday’s opener alongside Vitinha while Milan Badelj should start in midfield.
Lautaro Martinez missed most of preseason and is likely to start on the bench on Saturday. With Mehdi Taremi and Marco Arnautovic out injured, Marcus Thuram is likely to partner Joaquin Correa in attack while Nicolo Barella should start in midfield.
Genoa: Leali, De Winter, Bani, Vogliacco, Aaron Martin, Thorsby, Badelj, Frendrup, Sabelli, Vitinha, Junior Messias
Inter Milan: Sommer, Acerbi, Bastoni, Carlos Augusto, Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco, Correa, Thuram
Anything else catch the eye?
Genoa and Inter Milan have plenty of attacking quality and both teams could be backed to score at 5/6 with Betfred. The last meeting produced over 2.5 goals, which is also priced at 5/6 while over 3.5 goals could also be considered at 9/4 by Betfred.
Inter Milan are likely to be dominant and could be backed to score in both halves at 6/4 with Betfred. With the Nerazzurri backed at minimal odds for a straight victory, a win and both teams to score could be considered at 12/5 with Betfred.
This Serie A match between Genoa and Inter Milan will be played on Aug 17, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Genoa vs Inter Milan prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
