Preview: Inter Milan vs. Sassuolo - prediction, team news, lineups

Following another big-game defeat in midweek, Serie A champions Inter Milan aim to get back on track immediately as they host mid-table Sassuolo at San Siro on Sunday evening.

Losses to Milan and now Liverpool have seen the Nerazzurri falter in recent weeks, and last Saturday's draw with Napoli leaves them one point adrift of their city rivals at the top of the table.

Match preview

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As a measure of their Serie A supremacy over the past 18 months, after Derby defeat against Milan and a 1-1 draw versus third-placed Napoli, Inter could fail to win for three league matches in a row for the first time since January 2020 if they fail to take all three points on Sunday.

Simone Inzaghi has not only seen his side pick up just a point from two of the most challenging fixtures of their league campaign, but they were also clinically picked off by Liverpool in the first leg of the clubs' last-16 Champions League tie on Wednesday.

While the Scudetto holders' hopes of continuing their first journey through the knockout rounds of Europe's elite competition for over a decade may be waning, there remains every chance of a domestic double to surpass even last year's achievements.

Into the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia - where they will face off against Milan over two legs - the Nerazzurri are still within a point of the Serie A summit and retain a game in hand over their closest rivals.

They may have suffered just a fourth competitive loss at San Siro since the beginning of 2021 in midweek, but will now meet opponents of a rather more modest stature than the six-time European champions as they look to bounce back straight away.

Unbeaten in their last six Serie A meetings with Sassuolo, Inter have won each of the last three - including October's reverse fixture, in which star strikers Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez struck either side of a Domenico Berardi penalty for Inzaghi's men.

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Ahead of their trip to Milan, a Sassuolo side which has lost two of their last three games in league and cup will be aware that Inter have scored the most set-piece goals in Serie A this season, while only relegation-threatened Cagliari have conceded more than their own troubling tally of 19.

Furthermore, while the champions have so far salvaged the most points from trailing situations (and, incidentally, Sassuolo have recovered the second-most) Alessio Dionisi's team have lost a total of 17 points from leading positions - the league's second-worst record in that regard.

As a result of such failings, the Neroverdi remain mired in mid-table mediocrity - being 12 points adrift of sixth-placed Lazio in the competition for continental football and nine clear of the bottom three.

With surely too much quality in the squad to become embroiled in a late-season battle against the drop, a club which has finished eighth in the last two campaigns will be aiming to trend upwards in the coming weeks - particularly with Venezia, Salernitana and Spezia to meet before the end of next month.

Sassuolo, however, have now won only one of their last eight league games following Roma's late equaliser in last weekend's dramatic 2-2 draw, so their journey to the Meazza is likely to be taken in some trepidation.

Team News

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Following his Champions League suspension on Wednesday, Inter midfield mainstay Nicolo Barella returns to the starting XI, but Marcelo Brozovic must now serve a ban for accumulated bookings. In addition, Alessandro Bastoni is suspended for a second match following a red card in the Milan Derby, so Federico Dimarco should again deputise on the left side of the hosts' back three.

It is expected that Simone Inzaghi could offer a rest to veteran striker Edin Dzeko, who has struck 10 league goals since signing last summer, including the crucial equaliser in Naples. The oldest player to reach double figures across the top five European leagues, he has previously scored six Serie A times against Sassuolo, but may have to make do with a place on the bench.

In Dzeko's absence from the starting lineup, Lautaro Martinez - goalless in his last six league appearances; his worst league drought since 2019 - would be joined up front by Alexis Sanchez, as Joaquin Correa remains sidelined through injury.

Due to disciplinary problems of their own, Sassuolo were missing first-choice forwards Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori through suspension last weekend, but while the Italy internationals now return, the Neroverdi will be without Gian Marco Ferrari following his late dismissal against Roma.

Kaan Ayhan is favourite to take his place in the visitors' back four, though Jeremy Toljan and Filip Djuricic are among those still unavailable to Alessio Dionisi because of injury.

Up front, Scamacca and Raspadori should join captain Domenico Berardi, who has previously scored seven league goals versus Inter - including five from the penalty spot. No player since 2013 has scored as many times against the Nerazzurri in Serie A.

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Dimarco; Dumfries, Gagliardini, Barella, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Martinez, Sanchez

Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Muldur, Chiriches, Ayhan, Rogerio; Lopez, Frattesi; Berardi, Raspadori, Traore; Scamacca

We say: Inter Milan 3-1 Sassuolo

Frustrated by recent events in major matches, where they have come out on the wrong side of the result despite decent performances, Inter could take it out on opponents who are short of confidence and concede at a rate of nearly two goals per game on the road.

While Sassuolo certainly pose an attacking threat of their own, the champions are set to take maximum points in the first of three less challenging league fixtures.

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