Following their win against Napoli at home Inter travel to take on sixteenth place Empoli. Empoli on the other hand are coming off a 3-0 loss to Torino. The last time these two sides faced off was back in the 2016-17 season where Inter won the match before Empoli got relegated at the end of the season. Inter are slowly being able to do well against strong teams such as Napoli while Empoli are doing enough to secure another season in the top flight. Overall Inter have won five of their last six matches against Empoli with only one draw between them. Also in regards to the racist chants against Koulbilaly and the stabbings of four Napoli supporters after the match it has been determined the punishment will be the next two home matches will be behind closed doors and the third match the Curva Nord will be closed. This is a great decision from the club and if you don’t believe what the club stands for being brothers of the world you don’t get the right to call yourself a Interisti.
Inter Milan
Against Napoli a few players have really stepped up to help the team. First is defensive player Asomah he did a solid job blocking potential scoring chances and stealing the ball away from the Napoli offense. A player who has done a better job in five minutes than this player in the past few matches is Balde who in my opinion as been better than Perisic as of late. Martinez who scored the only goal of the match as stepped up as a great subbing but needs more chances in the starting lineup. Offense wise they are getting better than recent matches which they still need to work on the finishing scoring chances aspect but in way of creating them they’re getting better. Defense wise they did a solid job last match stealing the ball away from Napoli and blocking their scoring chances hopefully they can take that momentum into this match. Still on the injured list is left back Dalbert and it is still unsure of when he’ll return to action. The key player in this match is going to be Asomah who will do what it takes to get the ball along with stopping Empoli’s scoring chances. If they don’t keep him away from the ball Empoli will struggle.
Empoli
Empoli offensive wise struggle to create and finish scoring chances. They also let simple errors mess with their momentum. Defense wise they struggle to maintain possession of the ball along with preventing the opposing teams offense from scoring and creating chances. Out on the injured list for Empoli is Polvani and on the suspension list are Krunic, Buchel and Bittante. The key player for Empoli is Caputo who is their strong goal chance taker and will do anything to get his side a victory.
The bottom line
Inter have a simple job they need to exploit and use continue to use Empoli’s weaknesses against them such as creating and finishing scoring chances which is one thing they struggle to defend. They also can detur some of their chances by drawing offside situations. Inter will also need to continue maintaining full possession of the ball along with staying in Empoli’s half of the pitch and controlling the game there. While Empoli have their work cut out for them as they struggle to defend against skillful players such as players on Inter like Icardi, Perisic etc. They will also need to find a way to keep the ball themselves and figure out how to defend the ball against a strong side. This match should be a win for Inter but anything can happen.
Inter projected 4-3-3
GK Handanovic
Def Asomah, Skriniar, Deevrij, D’Ambrosio
Def mid Mario, Brozovic, Vecino
Att Perisic, Icardi, Politano
Empoli projected 3-5-2
GK Provedel
Def Maietta, Silvestre, Veseli
Def mid Antonelli, Traore, Bennacer, Cappezi, Di Lorenzo
Attack mid Caputo and Mraz
Date December 29th
Stadium Carlo Castellani
Place Empoli Italy
Time 8:00am USA 2:00pm UK 3:00pm Italy
