Internazionale vs Cagliari Preview

November 17, 2012 By Gregory Sica

After Juventus’ draw with Lazio, Inter Milan are more than aware that if they manage to overcome Cagliari they will move within touching distance of the league leaders.

Inter Milan will be hoping to rebound from their unexpected 3-2 defeat against Atalanta in Bergamo last weekend when they entertain Cagliari at the San Siro stadium on Sunday.

Besides the defeat to Atalanta, Inter have been in outstanding form in recent weeks and will rate their chances of overcoming Cagliari in front of their home fans.

But Andrea Stramaccioni’s side will have to be in top form to claim maximum points, because Cagliari have managed to pick up two victories in their last three away games, with 1-0 wins over Torino and Sampdoria.

Inter, who find themselves just five points adrift of Juventus and with a game in hand, have shown that they are an extremely compact unit and have improved in those patchy areas where they struggled so much last season when under Claudio Ranieri.

But for Sunday’s clash Stramaccioni faces a selection nightmare, as no less than ten of his players are out injured, including regular starters Freddy Guarin and Walter Samuel.

However, the good news is Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder has recovered from a lengthy injury layoff and could possibly sit on the bench. In recent weeks there has been much speculation linking Sneijder to big-spending Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala.

Once again, Stramaccioni has gone for a three-man attack, comprising of Antonio Cassano, Rodrigo Palacio and Diego Milito.

Rivals Cagliari are in a completely different situation in terms of injury concerns, as they will be able to count with a full-strength squad for what is likely to be a difficult trip to Milan.

Ivo Pulga has yet to decide whether Daniele Dossena or Albin Ekdal will start in the midfield, but his desired attacking partnership has been, with Marco Sau and Mauricio Pinilla confirmed in the attack with Nene having to settle for a place on the substitute’s bench.

The Sardinians don’t have a very good record against Inter, but will be hoping to return home with at least a valuable point.