Inter will look to continue their pursuit of Napoli and Roma as they travel to the Bentegodi on Sunday morning to take on struggling Hellas Verona.
After losing two of their opening three Serie A contests this season, Inter went on a four-game winning run to climb up the table.
However, Christian Chivu’s men saw their winning run end in Naples last weekend, as they were beaten 3-1 against reigning champions Napoli, on an evening where our man Gabriel landed a couple of winners.
The Nerazzurri did bounce back from that defeat at the Maradona in midweek, as three second-half goals earned them a 3-0 win against winless Fiorentina at San Siro, leaving them three points behind both Napoli and Roma.
Another side who are still winless in Serie A this season are Hellas Verona, who have only five draws to their name after the opening nine rounds of fixtures following their midweek defeat at Como.
Paulo Zanetti’s hosts have drawn three of their opening four Serie A encounters at the Bentegodi this term, but threw away a two-goal lead against Cagliari last weekend to draw 2-2.
How the bookies view it: Inter clear favourites
As expected, Inter travel to the Bentegodi are firm favourites, with BOYLE Sports pricing an away success at just 4/11.
The same firm has Hellas at 6/1 to claim their first Serie A victory of the season, whilst the draw is 7/2.
Head to head: Nerazzurri dominance
Inter have dominated this fixture over the past three decades, as they are unbeaten in each of their previous 29 meetings with Hellas Verona (W24-D5-L0).
Hellas’s last victory in this fixture came way back in February of 1992.
Players to watch: Set-piece king Hakan
Hakan Calhanoglu has had a superb start to the season for Inter, scoring six goals and providing two assists across his 10 Serie A and Champions League appearances.
The Turkish playmaker has scored in each of Inter’s last three Serie A encounters – each of them penalties – and the 6/5 on offer for him to Score or Assist at Bet365 appeals to me on Sunday morning.
Predicted line-ups:
Hellas Verona will be without Unai Nunez, Daniel Oyegoke, Moatasem Al-Musrati, Jean-Daniel Akpa Apro, Tomas Suslov and Grigoris Kastanos through injury.
Christian Chivu may decide to rotate his side here, but he will be unable to call upon the injured duo Matteo Darmian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Hellas Verona: Montipo, Nelsson, Bella-Kotchap, Valentini, Belghali, Serdar, Gagliardini, Bernede, Frese, Nascimento, Orban
Inter: Sommer, Akanji, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Susic, Dimarco, Esposito, Martinez
Anything else catch the eye?
As alluded to, Inter have a sensational record against Hellas Verona, with the Nerazzurri unbeaten in each of their previous 29 meetings (W24-D5-L0).
Christian Chivu’s won home and away against the Gialloblu last season, keeping clean sheets in both victories, and a repeat pays on Sunday pays an appealing 6/5 at BOYLE Sports.
What’s more four of Inter’s six victories in Serie A have seen them keep a clean sheet, and they look well-equipped to shut out a Hellas attack that has scored just five times in Serie A this season.
GambleAware