Inter remained in the bottom part of the table as they lost to Udinese at home, but the Neroazzurri will have another chance to improve their record at Giuseppe Meazza. Fiorentina did end the poor run of results with a victory over Roma, but that is hardly a big achievement when we know that the Giallorossi ended the game with eight players on the pitch.

One step forward, two steps back

Inter are still struggling to recover from the mess Gian Piero Gasperini left behind him, although they have shown some improvement in recent weeks. After securing the first place in their Champions League group and qualification to the knockout stages, the Neroazzurri are now looking to give their best in order to improve their embarrassing league position. Clauido Ranieri’s side currently sit in 15th place, no less than 13 points behind 3rd-placed Udinese, albeit with a game in hand. Following back to back league wins over Cagliari and Siena, Inter couldn’t avoid defeat in the derby game against Udinese, even if they had dominated large periods of the game. After Claudio Ranieri rested his key players in midweek, Inter are very motivated to beat Fiorentina and thus finally start climbing the table. Numerous selection problems are making it hard for the experienced coach, but he should, nonetheless, be able to field a pretty good side.

Javier Zanetti is suspended after being sent off against Udinese, whereas Lucio, Forlan, Muntari and Viviano remain sidelined. Cristian Chivu, Dejan Stankovic and Wesley Sneijder are all rated doubtful.

Fiorentina finally back to winning ways

Following a very disappointing season last term, Fiorentina were expected to show some improvement this season, but they have failed to do so. The team largely struggled at the start to the season under Sinisa Mihajlovic and after failing to show any improvement under Delio Rossi, Viola will have to battle even for a top table finish. This team just don’t have the right chemistry to mount a serious top 5 challenge, and with key players Montolivo, Vargas and Gilardino already thinking about leaving the club, it is little wonder that Fiorentina cannot seem to live up to the expectations. The team finally managed to end the dismal run of results as they beat struggling Roma at home, but there are no doubts that three red cards for the Giallorossi in that match made the job a whole lot easier for Fiorentina. Viola are unlikely to be given such a favour against Inter and given their dismal away form, I just don’t see how they can avoid defeat at Meazza.

Per Kroldrup, Mattia Cassani, Houssine Kharja and Alessio Cerci continue to miss out, but Cesare Natali returns from suspension.

Verdict

Inter are very motivated to win this game and start climbing the Serie A standings and they should have what it takes to beat struggling Fiorentina. Viola are in all sorts of problems at the moment and they dismal away form doesn’t give them much to hope for before the trip to Meazza.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 1.95 (19/20)

Bookmaker: Victor Chandler