Inter Milan vs Empoli

Following their midweek home pitch detention, Inter Milan will be eager to regain the standard performance on next Sunday evening, where they will be hosting Empoli at the San Siro ground.

The champions could reduce Napoli’s advantage to just one point only on Wednesday as the probability of a three-horse Scudetto battle remained alive.

The latest match was played at home on Tuesday, Inter in search of the seventh consecutive league victory which would have brought them to a point from the summit of the Serie A table, it was the game against Bologna.

Despite conceding the opening goal to Santiago Castro, the Nerazzurri seized the lead at the infancy of the second half, as Dumfries maintained his scoring spurt to beat the opponents’ goalkeeper from a very close proximity before Martinez scored a brilliant goal in stoppage time.

Yet, Bologna responded and the match end in 2-2 which pushed Italy’s reigning champions three points behind Napoli, their immediate predecessors and current league leaders and note that Inter still has one outstanding match.

For Simone Inzaghi’s charges, they have only resulted in a total of 12 goals conceded in their home matches in this season’s Serie A which may be one more compared to the previous season while a series of injuries may have affected their defensive prowess.

However, they are not out of the title race yet, as they are still within striking distance of Napoli and their fellow Lombardy side, Atalanta BC; they have chances to win 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 triumphed in their last 14 league encounters with Empoli, save for one occasion.

On the other hand, Empoli are heading to a club where they've faced the most defeats—26 out of 33—and have conceded the highest number of goals, a staggering 69, in Serie A history.

To make matters worse, the Tuscan team has been struggling recently, losing five of their last seven league matches. That’s as many defeats as they endured in the previous 19 games combined!

Last week’s 3-1 loss to Lecce, a fellow relegation contender, was especially tough to take. Despite facing one of the few teams below them in the standings, their miserable home form continued.

At Stadio Castellani, Davide Nicola's team was behind two goals after just eleven minutes. Despite some hope from Liberato Cacace's goal in the second half, Nikola Krstovic ultimately put an end to them in stoppage time.

With a strong start to Nicola's rule receding into the distance, that outcome left them just two points above the drop zone.

Things can get worse before they get better because Empoli has to play Inter, Juventus, AC Milan, and Atalanta in Serie A before facing Juventus in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals next month.

This weekend, Simone Inzaghi will welcome back Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while Francesco Acerbi, another veteran, may make a comeback after a protracted injury layoff in time to start on the bench.

However, Inter is still without Joaquin Correa, Hakan Calhanoglu, and Yann Bisseck because of thigh problems, while Davide Frattesi, a wanted midfielder, has been exercising alone because of a muscular problem.

Lorenzo Colombo, who is on loan from Milan, and Sebastiano Esposito, who is owned by Inter, lead Empoli's attack. Esposito made seven Serie A appearances for the Nerazzurri during the 2019–20 season, becoming the second-youngest scorer in the club's history.

Esposito should feel confident heading back to Italy's second city because he has tied Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui for the most goals in away games this season with six.