Third Straight Start For Inter Midfielder As Calhanoglu Eyes A Return Against Bologna
Written By Onyeka Daniel
Following Napoli’s win over Juventus at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples, current Serie A leaders, Inter Milan will have the chance to further stretch their lead at the top of the table when they face Genoa at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in a Monday night fixture.
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But they will have their work cut out for them against a Gena side that is one of the few teams to have taken points off them in the League this season. And of course, Inter manager, Simone Inzaghi has confirmed his intentions to rotate the team for this particular encounter. As far as his plans for tomorrow, “There will be some changes. Some rotations.” He said in his press match conference.
“I’m lucky to have most of the guys available,” he continued. “There will be a few players missing, as we’ve unfortunately seen that when you play a lot of matches, some players get injured.” “But the guys who have been available have always given me the answers I’ve wanted.” As far as what he expects tomorrow, Inzaghi said that “It will be a tough match.”
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“Genoa are an excellent team,” the Inter coach said. “They’re on 33 points. They’re having an excellent season.” “I believe that in the past twelve matches they’ve only lost to Atalanta,” Inzaghi said. “So we’ll have to stay totally switched-on.” “Genoa are very good at occupying the pitch,” he continued. “They’re very good in both phases of the game. So we’ll have to be technically clean and play our usual game.”
As far as Inter’s defensive record, Inzaghi said that “Over the past thirty months, my staff and I have found that all the players completely put themselves at our disposal.” “My staff and I try and instill our principles of play in them,” he said. “And then they do very well to execute them.” He further added.
For all the planned changes, one player who is bound to start for the Nerazzurri is Albanian midfielder, Kristjan Asllani in the regista role, owing to the fact that Hakan Calhanoglu is still out with injury. The 30-year-old had picked up the problem shortly before Inter’s Serie A match away to Lecce.
Asllani was really impressive against Lecce, providing the assist for Lautaro Martinez in the opening goal before he was replaced in the second half after picking up a yellow card. In the game against Atalanta, he also started and this time, he was on the pitch for the full 90mins, helping the team keep a another clean sheet while scoring four goals in their second straight match.
For this game, he’s also expected to start, but for the Turkish midfielder, he could return to fitness for the team’s next Serie A match against Bologna. The former AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder was not part of the team’s recent training session. He continued to work on his recovery program, aiming to be fit for the next game, where the Nerazzurri will travel to Emilia-Romagna to face Bologna next weekend.
There is every chance of Calhanoglu being available for the match, but there is the question of whether he will be ready to start that match. Inter’s following match is a hugely significant Champions League round of sixteen second leg away to Atletico Madrid. That will certainly be a priority to have Calhanoglu back.
In the mean time, Asllani will have another chance to show that he’s the right player to succeed Calhanoglu in the team for the future with another strong showing against Genoa, and who knows, he might play more regularly in the future even when the former Rossoneri man returns to full fitness.
Meanwhile…
Inter could reach two statistical achievements if they beat Genoa according to Gazzetta dello Sport. The report notes that the Nerazzurri can both equal last season’s points total, and reach nine consecutive wins in Serie A for the first time since 2021.
Inter have won eleven matches from eleven since the start of 2024. That is across all competitions. This remarkable record has allowed the Nerazzurri to open up a huge gap at the top of the Serie A table. And it has also meant winning the Supercoppa Italiana for the third season in a row, and giving themselves a real platform in their Champions League round of sixteen tie against Atletico Madrid.
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If the Nerazzurri were to defeat Genoa, they would at least maintain their advantage at the top of Serie A after Juve’s loss to Napoli. The Nerazzurri will want three points to take one more step towards the Serie A table. But a win over the Grifone would be significant in a couple of respects that go beyond the season.
The first is that Inter would equal their points total from last season, with a game to spare. Last time around, the Nerazzurri managed 72 points across the Serie A season. That was good enough for third in the table. But this campaign, Inter have reached 69 after just 26 matches.
Therefore, a win would mean that they equal last season’s total, while also continuing their run of Serie A victories. That streak currently stands at eight matches. With one more, the Nerazzurri would equal the nine-match run between January and April of 2021.
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