Serie A resumes this weekend after the fortnight long winter break. Inter are involved in the marquee matchup of this weekend’s fixtures as they welcome Roma to the San Siro. With no wins in five, and going up against a direct rival for one of the Champions League spots, this game assumes even more importance.

Spalletti’s men ended the first half of the season looking lost, and often bereft of ideas. In spite of not having any European football, Inter’s limited squad meant that the performances of some key players were starting to look jaded. The winter break should have given Spalletti much needed time with the squad to try and address some of the issues, particularly in midfield.

Prior to the December slip-up, Inter had opened up a small but crucial buffer to the Roman clubs. However, as things stand now, Lazio are just two points behind with a game in hand, and Roma are a further point adrift and also have a game in hand. What this means then is, Inter have little to no margin for error. A win against Roma would provide a shot in the arm, but even a draw might not be the end of the world as it would not allow Di Francesco’s men to leapfrog the Nerazzurri and weaken Inter’s morale further.

Inter came away with a surprise 3-1 victory back in August, and Roma would love to get their own back especially as they would feel hard done by with how that game went. Casting our minds back to the Stadio Olimpico, Roma had numerous chances to finish the game off when leading 1-0, only for the woodwork and some poor finishing to keep Inter in the contest. Inter need to play this game smartly and realize they are playing an equal (Roma have scored five fewer goals but conceded one less). Given the fragile nature of our psyche at the current moment, losing this game by a heavy scoreline at home can have much bigger mental repercussions than just the loss of three points.

Form Guide:

Inter and Roma head into this game on the back of some rather indifferent form to say the least. Inter’s last win came at the beginning of December against Chievo and have been winless in the last five outings. Roma too has not fared much better, with only a solitary win in their last five.

Record in last five matches (most recent result left-most):

Inter Milan: DDLLD

Roma: LDLWD

The two squads have changed so much from last season that the 3-1 victory that Roma had at San Siro does not really mean much in the current context.

Prediction:

This game has all the makings of a tough fixture and it is always difficult to predict how the team will react after a long break like we have just had. I think Inter will score but I cannot see us holding out for the entire 90 minutes, so am leaning towards a 1-1 draw.

Squad News:

Luciano Spalletti should have almost a full complement of players to pick from, as Miranda is fit again and should slot in alongside Skriniar. Danilo D’Ambrosio appears to be the only doubt for this game.

Match Info:

Date & Time: Sunday, January 21st, 2018; 7:45 PM CEST (2:45 PM on the U.S. East Coast)

Location: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro), Milan, Italy

TV/Streaming: For our fans in the US, the game will be shown on beIN Sports, beIN Sports Connect, Rai Italia America, and on fuboTV. Viewers in the UK can catch the match on BT Sport 1 and online via BT Sport Live. For fans in the rest of the world, please click here to find out your viewing options.

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