Soccer
Verdict: Total home goals over 2.5
Best odds: 6/5
Bookmaker: Olympusbet
After missing the chance to capitalize on another setback from their Scudetto rivals, Inter Milan will look to claim the top spot on Saturday evening as they host Genoa at San Siro.
Their defeat to Juventus in the Derby d’Italia saw them relinquish their place at the Serie A summit, and now a former Inter player is determined to inflict further damage.
Inter Milan
Suffering a 1-0 defeat to longtime rivals Juventus on Sunday night kept Inter two points behind Napoli with 13 rounds remaining, as the Italian title race enters a pivotal stage.
Despite controlling the first half in Turin, with both Denzel Dumfries and captain Lautaro Martinez missing opportunities, the Nerazzurri left empty-handed after Francisco Conceicao slotted past Yann Sommer in the 74th minute.
As a result, Inter have now lost two of their last three league matches—matching their total defeats from the previous 54—raising concerns over whether the reigning champions require a Manchester City-style overhaul this summer.
Until then, Simone Inzaghi’s squad still have much at stake, including a Champions League last-16 clash next month, following a Coppa Italia quarter-final against Inzaghi’s former club, Lazio.
First, Inter return to league action, aiming for three consecutive Serie A home wins for the first time this season—and the first time since last March, when they won nine straight on their way to the title.
Against bottom-half teams this season, the Milanese side have secured 11 wins and two draws from 13 matches, while their record versus Genoa is even stronger.
Inter have won their last 10 league meetings with Genoa at San Siro by a combined score of 27-2, with their most recent home defeat in this fixture dating all the way back to 1994.
Team News
With two major fixtures ahead—a Coppa Italia quarter-final and next week’s potential title showdown against Napoli—Simone Inzaghi may opt to rotate his squad, especially with a fully fit group at his disposal this weekend.
Returning forward Marcus Thuram is expected to reclaim a starting spot, pushing out-of-form striker Mehdi Taremi to the bench.
Thuram’s strike partner Lautaro Martinez, has gone four league matches without a goal, despite scoring in four of the previous five. ‘El Toro’ has also played 481 minutes across seven Serie A appearances against Genoa without finding the net, and he’ll be keen to sort that out as soon a possible.
Genoa
Without a league victory over the Nerazzurri in 11 attempts, Genoa have at least managed three draws in their last four meetings—including a 2-2 result at Marassi on this season’s opening matchday, when Junior Messias struck a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer.
Revitalized under former Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira, the Grifone have steadily distanced themselves from the relegation battle after a sluggish start, with Monday’s win over struggling Venezia securing maximum points.
Top scorer Andrea Pinamonti finally broke the deadlock with under 10 minutes left, before Maxwel Cornet netted his first goal in Rossoblu colors to seal the victory—marking three straight Serie A home wins without conceding for the first time since 2010.
That triumph also lifted Vieira’s side to 11th place, moving above Torino, and their next goal will be surpassing Udinese to break into the top half.
Since the Frenchman took charge, Genoa have recorded more clean sheets than any other Serie A team – seven in 13 games – but they now face their toughest challenge yet on Saturday.
Team News
Former Inter striker Andrea Pinamonti leads the visitors’ attack, having claimed the most ‘Player of the Match’ awards (six) in Serie A this season—the latest coming after his crucial goal on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Vieira will be without Honest Ahanor (knee), Morten Thorsby (calf), Milan Badelj, and Vitinha (both muscular injuries), with the latter’s absence potentially opening the door for either Maxwel Cornet or Caleb Ekuban to support Pinamonti in attack.
Conclusion
While Genoa have shown defensive discipline under their current manager, they have also struggled in attack, scoring the fewest first-half goals this season (five), whereas Inter have netted the most (27).
With last week’s setback providing extra motivation, the hosts are likely to start fast before settling in and comfortably seeing out the match, possibly even adding to the visitors’ woes along the way.
Verdict: Total home goals over 2.5
Best odds: 6/5
Bookmaker: Olympusbet
Read MoreVeselin Trajkovic