Salernitana vs Inter Milan

Serie A pacesetters Inter Milan will be looking to bounce back from a midweek shock when they meet out-of-sorts Salernitana at Stadio Arechi this weekend.

Despite masterminding Salernitana’s top-flight survival last season after replacing Davide Nicola at the helm in February, Portuguese boss Paulo Sousa is among the likeliest candidates to follow in the footsteps of Paolo Zanetti and become the second Serie A manager to be relieved of his duties this term. Salernitana slumped to a dismal 1-0 defeat to Zanetti’s former side Empoli in midweek Serie A action, remaining one of only three sides in the division yet to win a game this season (D3, L3). But ‘I Granata’ are no strangers to slow top-flight starts, with this being the third time across their four Serie A campaigns that they’ve gone winless in their opening six games. Sousa will hope history can repeat itself this weekend, with the seventh match providing a breakthrough for Salernitana on both previous occasions.

Visiting Inter Milan could put the final nail in Sousa’s coffin, but after drawing 1-1 on their last visit to Stadio Arechi, they cannot take anything for granted. That stalemate halted Inter’s outrageous three-game winning top-flight record against Salernitana via an aggregate score of 12-0 in the 21st century. Back to the present, Simone Inzaghi’s men spurned a halftime lead in a frustrating 2-1 midweek home loss to Sassuolo, relinquishing their 100% league start to 2023/24 (W5). Before conceding two unanswered second-half goals against ‘I Neroverdi,’ Inter had capitulated just once in their opening five Serie A games this term, highlighting their backline as the team’s most prominent feature. But the visitors have been equally impressive on the other side of the pitch, scoring a league-high 15 goals.