Inter Milan aim to take advantage of visitors Parma's dismal form, as Antonio Conte's side seek to close the gap on their city rivals AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
San Siro will host Saturday evening's encounter with Fabio Liverani's early-season strugglers, who have a forbidding task to turn things around against inconsistent Inter.
Match preview
After two wins in their first two league games, the Nerazzurri then recorded a draw against Lazio and a disappointing 2-1 derby defeat to Milan.
Last weekend's 2-0 win over Genoa - their first clean sheet of the campaign - came between two draws in the Champions League, the most recent being a goalless encounter with Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek.
Conte would argue that his side have been assailed by bad fortune of late – especially in Europe – as in their last four outings they have seen several points slip away despite conceding only a cumulative nine shots on target.
This rediscovered defensive solidity indicates Inter may still be capable of mirroring their 'best defence in the league' tag of last term, when they conceded less than a goal a game.
Offensively, they have not slackened either, with 13 goals registered - thanks, above all, to the eight goals scored by the irrepressible Romelu Lukaku-Lautaro Martinez pairing. Only once since the turn of the century have an Inter side scored more after the opening five games of a league campaign.
Only once, too, has Antonio Conte previously lost consecutive home fixtures in a grand total of 123 games in Serie A and the Premier League - way back in 2009, while in charge of Atalanta. The notoriously tough taskmaster will not expect to blot that record against Parma.
There is a thin ray of light for the visitors, however. After a streak of seven consecutive home league wins against Parma, Inter have not won any of their four most recent matches at San Siro against the Gialloblu - making them, relatively speaking, something of a bogey side.
That really is all the hope that Liverani's men can muster though, as they have so far lurched unconvincingly through the opening throes of the 2020-21 campaign.
Last week, only a late Juraj Kucka penalty saved a 2-2 draw with promoted Spezia, as the Parma attack continues to stall. Some confidence may have been gleaned from a midweek Coppa Italia victory over Serie B Pescara - largely thanks to ex-Inter forward Yann Karamoh's first-half double - but the likes of Gervinho, Roberto Inglese and Andreas Cornelius have yet to fully fire.
Such sterility has resulted in a mere six goals scored and a subsequent tally of just four points from the first five rounds. Inevitably, this has not married well with Liverani's preference for offensive football - they have conceded 11 goals, at a rate of more than two per game.
Ex-Arsenal and Roma man Gervinho at least enjoys taking on Saturday's opposition. The mercurial Ivorian has scored a goal in both of his last two league matches against Inter and his input will be essential if Parma are to take anything from this onerous assignment.
Inter Milan Serie A form: WWDLW
Inter Milan form (all competitions): WDLDWD
Parma Serie A form: LLWLD
Parma form (all competitions): LLWLDW
Team News
Conte is set to be without midfielders Matias Vecino and Stefano Sensi, while Milan Skriniar's participation is in doubt after spending over a fortnight in quarantine.
Alexis Sanchez is still struggling with a muscular injury picked up in the opening Champions League match, so Lautaro Martinez keeps his place despite appearing to be in need of a rest.
Achraf Hakimi is expected to continue on the right but out-of-position Ivan Perisic could be replaced by one of ex-Manchester United duo Ashley Young or Matteo Darmian on the left.
Either Christian Eriksen or Arturo Vidal will be most advanced of the midfielders, behind the front pair Lukaku and Lautaro.
There is a long list of 'unavailables' for Parma coach Liverani, who will be forced to do without the injured Valentin Mihaila, Mattia Sprocati, Matteo Scozzarella and Maxime Busi, among others, though veteran defender Bruno Alves returns from quarantine.
Kucka will support Gervinho and possibly Cornelius, though Karamoh may well earn a start against his former club instead, given his brace scored on midweek cup duty.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; D'Ambrosio, de Vrij, Bastoni; Hakimi, Barella, Brozovic, Vidal, Young; Lukaku, Martinez
Parma possible starting lineup:
Sepe; Grassi, Iacoponi, Gagliolo, Pezzella; Hernani, Brugman, Kurtic; Kucka; Cornelius, Gervinho
We say: Inter Milan 3-0 Parma
A seemingly perfect opportunity to build momentum has arrived for Conte's Inter, in the shape of lambs-to-the-slaughter Parma. The Gialloblu just cannot find their shooting boots and have an ever-lengthening list of absentees too.
Expect the Nerazzurri to rediscover last season's ruthless streak against one of Serie A's most vulnerable defences, as Lukaku chases down Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the capocannoniere charts.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:databody check tags ::
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