Inter will look to move six points clear at the top of the Serie A table on Friday night as they welcome 19th-placed Pisa to San Siro.
Inter have bounced back from their 2-2 draw at home to reigning champions Napoli by recording back-to-back 1-0 victories at home to Lecce and away at Udinese.
Christian Chivu’s hosts have now won eight of their previous nine Serie A encounters (W8-D1-L0), and sit three points clear of city-rivals Milan at the top of the Serie A table and six ahead of Napoli.
However, the Nerazzurri head into this clash off the back of a defeat, having lost 1-3 at home to Premier League leaders Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday night, which saw them fall out of the top eight in the league phase table.
Pisa travel to San Siro off the back of consecutive draws, as they scored a rare goal at home late on last Friday to draw 1-1 with resurgent Atalanta.
Despite sitting three points adrift of safety, Alberto Gilardino’s visitors have been competitive on their travels, drawing six of their previous seven away games (W0-D6-L1), with five of those ending in 2-2 stalemates.
How the bookies view it: Inter big favourites
Unsurprisingly, Inter have been priced up as short-priced favourites to make it nine wins from 10 in Serie A on Friday night, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 1/6.
Pisa are massive 18/1 underdogs to claim just their second win since promotion to the Italian top flight, whilst the draw is also unfancied at 6/1.
Head to head: Nerazzurri dominance
Inter’s 0-2 win in the reverse fixture at the end of November was the first meeting since Pisa were last in the Italian top flight back in the 1990/91 season.
That win in Tuscany at the end of November was the Nerazzurri’s sixth consecutive victory over Pisa.
Players to watch: More Martinez magic against Pisa?
Lautaro Martinez continues to be Inter’s talisman this season, with the Nerazzurri captain scoring 15 goals and providing four assists across his 28 appearances this season.
The Argentinian attacker has scored eight goals across his last 10 starts in Serie A – including a brace in the reverse fixture – and the 39/40 on offer at the Bet Victor bet builder for him to score and Inter to win on Friday night appeals to me.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Inter will once again be without the injured Denzel Dumfries and Hakan Calhanoglu.
Pisa will be missing the experienced Raul Albion and Juan Cuardado, as well as Mateus Lusuardi and Calvin Stengs.
Inter: Sommer, Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni, Henrique, Barella, Zielinski, Sucic, Dimarco, Thuram, Martinez
Pisa: Scuffet, Coppola, Calabresi, Canestrelli, Toure, Marin, Aebischer, Angori, Moreo, Tramoni, Meister
Anything else catch the eye?
In contrast to their home matches, Pisa’s away contests since their return to the Italian top flight have been entertaining, with their opening 10 road trips averaging an eye-catching 3.40 goals per game.
Over 3.5 Goals has paid out in seven of their last nine, including a 2-2 draw at Milan (2nd) and a 2-3 loss to Napoli (3rd).
Over 2.5 Goals has also landed in 8/11 (73%) of Inter’s Serie A encounters in front of their supporters this season – with three of the past four also going Over 3.5 Goals – and another high-scorer could be on the cards here.
Over 3.0 Asian Goal Line pays 22/25 at bet365, meaning exactly three goals returns our stake, whilst four or more goals rewards us with a full payout.
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