Inter recovered well from the defeat to Juventus as they beat Fiorentina away in midweek and this is a perfect chance to put extra pressure on local rivals Milan. Cagliari, on the other hand, kept the high position in the standings as they hammered Chievo at home, once again showing their attacking potential.

One eye on the Bayern clash

Following the early season struggles under Rafa Benitez, Inter chiefs decided to sack the Spaniard and appoint Leonardo as his successor, which would prove to be a great decision. The Brazilian coach managed to stabilize team’s form and get them back on the right track, and after winning 10 of the first 12 games in charge he definitely proved his undisputed potential. The Neroazzurri recovered well from the derby defeat to Juve as they beat Fiorentina on Wednesday, but three points from Artemio Franchi will mean nothing if they fail to beat Cagliari. Just four days after this match, Inter will host Bayern in the Champions League, so there is no doubt the players will be thinking of that match as well. The Neroazzurri are in pretty good scoring form at the moment, but they have also conceded in four of the last five games and could have problems with Cagliari’s counterattacking style.

Leonardo has left out Wesley Sneijder and Lucio as he wants them to remain fresh for the Bayern game, while Samuel, Milito and Chivu are still unavailable.

Cagliari trashed Chievo

Seeing they currently occupy the 9th place in the standings, just few points behind European places, Cagliari can be seen as one of the biggest surprise packages of the season. The Rossoblu didn’t have such a good start to the season under coach Pierpaolo Bisoli, who was sacked following the home defeat to Genoa, but new boss Roberto Donadoni completely revitalized the team and got them playing some great attacking football in the second part of the season. As a result, Cagliari are now a danger both home and away, with their counterattacking style and the trio of Cossu, Nene and Acquafreca causing a lot of problems to opposition defenders. Taking into account that the Rossoblu are high on confidence after beating Chievo 4:1 and that they have nothing to lose against Inter, I can definitely see them scoring at least once at Giuseppe Meazza.

Radja Nainggolan and Simon Laner return to contention after missing the win over Chievo, but boss Donadoni is unlikely to make changes to the starting line-up after such an impressive performance against the Flying Donkeys.

Verdict

Inter desperately need a win to remain in the title race, but they will definitely not have an easy job against high-flying Cagliari side. The odds offered on home win are definitely not worth the risk and with both teams scoring goals for fun lately, our advice is to back both sides to score.

Our prediction: Both teams to score

Odds: 1.95 (19/20)

Bookmaker: William Hill