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Serie A | Gameweek 21
Jan 19, 2025 at 7.45pm UK
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
EL

Inter Milan
3 - 1
Empoli

Martinez (55'), Dumfries (79'), Thuram (89')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Esposito (83')
(63')

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

:Headline: Preview: Inter Milan vs. Empoli - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's Serie A clash between Inter Milan and Empoli, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

After being held on home turf in midweek, Inter Milan aim to resume normal service on Sunday evening, when they welcome Empoli to San Siro.

The Serie A champions could only trim Napoli's lead by one point on Wednesday, as a potential three-horse Scudetto race continues to take shape.


Match preview

Seeking a seventh straight league win, Inter played host to Bologna earlier this week, when victory would have taken them within a point of the Serie A summit.

Though they fell behind to an early Santiago Castro strike, the Nerazzurri were in front just before half time, as Denzel Dumfries continued his recent purple patch by scoring from close range before Lautaro Martinez fired home in the first minute of stoppage time.

Bologna struck back, though, and a 2-2 draw now leaves Italy's reigning champions six points adrift of their immediate predecessors - and current league leaders - Napoli; albeit, Inter still have two games in hand.

Simone Inzaghi's side have now conceded 12 times at home in Serie A this season, which is already one more than in the whole of last term, with a series of defensive injuries surely playing a part.

Nevertheless, they are still very much in the title race - alongside Napoli and Lombardy rivals Atalanta BC - and could yet claim trophies in both the Champions League and Coppa Italia.

Coming into Sunday's clash, they have found the net at least once in their last 32 league fixtures at San Siro, and Inzaghi will expect that trend to continue against one of Inter's favourite opponents: they have won all but one of their last 14 league meetings with Empoli.

By contrast, Empoli are set to visit a club they have lost the most games to (26 of 33) and conceded the most goals against (69) in their Serie A history.

As if that were not enough cause for concern, the Tuscan side have recently lost five of their last seven league games - as many defeats as they suffered throughout the previous 19.

Last week's 3-1 loss to fellow strugglers Lecce was a bitter pill to swallow, as their dismal home record continued despite hosting one of the few teams below them in the top-flight standings.

Trailing by two goals after just 11 minutes at Stadio Castellani, Davide Nicola's men were unable to reverse that deficit: though Liberato Cacace's second-half strike offered some hope, Nikola Krstovic finally killed them off in stoppage time.

That result left them only two points clear of the drop zone, with a bright start to Nicola's reign fading into distant memory.

Before tackling Juventus in next month's Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Empoli must meet Inter, Juve, AC Milan and Atalanta in Serie A, so things may get worse before they get any better.

Inter Milan Serie A form:


Inter Milan form (all competitions):


Empoli Serie A form:


Team News

Simone Inzaghi will welcome back Henrikh Mkhitaryan this weekend, and he should join fellow veteran Francesco Acerbi - who finally returns from a long injury layoff - on the bench.

However, Inter are still missing Yann Bisseck, Hakan Calhanoglu and Joaquin Correa with thigh injuries, and wantaway midfielder Davide Frattesi has been training individually due to a muscular issue.

The hosts may rotate their squad between a midweek contest and Wednesday's Champions League trip to Prague, but captain Lautaro Martinez is still set to start up front. Inconsistent this season, 'El Toro' will aim to score in consecutive league games at San Siro for the first time since last February.

Meanwhile, Empoli's attack is led by Milan loanee Lorenzo Colombo and Inter-owned forward Sebastiano Esposito, the latter of whom made seven Serie A appearances for the Nerazzurri in the 2019-20 campaign, becoming the second-youngest scorer in club history.

This term, Esposito has notched the joint-most goals in away matches - six, level with Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui - so should be full of confidence for his return to Italy's second city.

Devis Vasquez could return between the posts after his surprise exclusion against Lecce, but Tino Anjorin and Ola Solbakken both join long-term absentees Pietro Pellegri, Nicolas Haas, Saba Sazonov and Tyronne Ebuehi on the sidelines.


Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Augusto; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Zielinski, Dimarco; Martinez, Taremi

Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti; Gyasi, Henderson, Grassi, Cacace, Pezzella; Esposito; Colombo


We say: Inter Milan 3-0 Empoli

In 16 previous top-tier meetings at San Siro, these sides have never before produced a draw, with 14 wins for Inter and two for their Tuscan counterparts.

Empoli would gladly take one point on Sunday, but the Nerazzurri are a class apart and should cruise to victory over ailing opponents.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Napoli23173338162254
2Inter Milan23156256223451
3Atalanta BCAtalanta23145449262347
4Fiorentina23126540231742
5Lazio2313374031942
6Juventus23913139201940
7Bologna2291033527837
8AC Milan229853324935
9Roma238783429531
10Udinese2385102836-829
11Torino236982427-327
12Genoa236892132-1126
13Hellas VeronaHellas Verona2372142648-2223
14Lecce2365121841-2323
15Como2357112738-1122
16Empoli2349102233-1121
17CagliariCagliari2356122438-1421
18Parma2348112942-1320
19VeneziaVenezia2337132238-1616
20Monza2327142034-1413
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