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Many speculated Internazionale to struggle under Simone Inzaghi, but as it turned out, they are mounting yet another serious title challenge despite losing two massive players and a league-winning manager due to club debts. Throughout the 2021/22 campaign, they lost just one league fixture and against all the odds, are leading local rivals AC Milan by four points at the top.
They have a tricky fixture next up when they travel to Bologna, where there is not much room to lose ground by dropping points. The manager and the players are well aware of the responsibility that sits on their shoulders, but with the Rossoblu not playing their best football lately, which should make things a little easier than usual for the visiting team.
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Bologna had lost three successive games before winning their previous game against Sassuolo away from home. This run included two consecutive defeats at home to ACF Fiorentina and Juventus, which took them to the bottom half of the table. A win, however, could take them back into the top 10 with a few other results working in their favour.
Their defensive record hasn’t helped them one bit, having already conceded 31 this season. To keep a clean sheet will be an irrepressible task when Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men face the best goal-scoring unit in the tournament.
Bologna’s last 5 matches
| Opponent | Score |
| AS Roma (Dec 1, home) | 1-0 |
| ACF Fiorentina (Dec 15, home) | 2-3 |
| Torino (Dec 12, away) | 1-2 |
| Juventus (Dec 18, home) | 0-2 |
| Sassuolo (Dec 22, away) | 3-0 |
Alessio Dionisi will back his forwards to play to their strengths and not back down too much, and going by the number of entertaining contests the Petronians have been a part of, we can expect similar exploits once again.
Since drawing their fixture against AC Milan on November 8, Internazionale haven’t dropped points in the Serie A, registering seven consecutive wins. In their last eight games, they picked up 22 points, out of which four points came against fellow title contenders AC Milan (1 point) and Napoli (3 points).
They have the second-best defensive record in the league, and the best goal-scoring record, pretty much warranting their top spot. It will take a monumental effort from the hosts to garner points in this game.
Key players
The top scorer for Inter Milan this season (11 goals), Lautaro Martinez continues to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the world and has scored 11 times this season.
The Argentine also assisted twice, making him a player to watch out for. With Edin Dzeko missing out this fixture, the onus will be heavier on Martinez to turn up with his scoring boots.
Alexis Sanchez has been heavily involved with the team in the last few games and has scored two goals and assisted two times.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona attacker has been linked with a move away from the club for a while, but it seems like he will stay at the club to help them win their second consecutive league title.
One of the most all-round midfielders in the Italian league right now, Mattias Svanberg is being heavily linked with a lot of elite European clubs. He has been in top form going forward as well, scoring three times in the league and assisting twice. He has been at the heart of Bologna’s midfield and is one of their lone stars in the XI, they’ll need him to be at his best in this crucial fixture.
Marko Arnautovic is a top target man when he’s provided the right service, it was palpable in the Premier League, and he continues to do so with Bologna. If their midfield and fullbacks can offer the 32-year-old Austrian some good service, he can add to his six-goal contribution.
Quickly transforming himself into one of the most productive midfielders in the world, Marcelo Brozovic has been a powerhouse defensively and is a regular contributor to Inter’s attack as well.
The Croatian has made just one assist but has a passing accuracy of 93%, the highest among Inter players, and keeps threading plenty of long balls into the box in the wide areas.
Prediction
There are so many impressive things about Inzaghi’s side, but what really makes them the champion unit they are right now is the fact that they get results when the going gets tough.
The reigning Serie A champions are predicted to win this fixture 3-1 and Bologna might get a goal on the counter.
