Fiorentina vs Inter Milan

Stadio Artemio Franchi sets the stage for a tasty-looking Serie A clash between top-four hopefuls Fiorentina and title-bidding Inter Milan.

Fiorentina’s trip to Saudi Arabia for Supercoppa Italiana duties didn’t go as expected, with Vincenzo Italiano’s side slumping to a chastening 3-0 defeat to Napoli in their semi-final tie. The hosts’ league form paints an identical picture, with back-to-back winless Serie A outings (D1, L1) compromising their chances of securing a first top-four finish since 2014/15. Inter’s impending arrival in Tuscany ought to deepen La Viola’s crisis, considering they’ve lost their last three top-flight H2Hs on home turf, not to mention finishing on the receiving end of a 4-0 scoreline in the reverse fixture. But there’s a silver lining. They’ve fared impressively at home lately, racking up seven wins across their last eight competitive matches at Franchi (D1), including four in Serie A.

On the other hand, Inter Milan avenged Fiorentina’s humbling to Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana title-deciding contest, running out 1-0 victors courtesy of Lautaro Martinez’s stoppage-time winner. Inter dismantled Lazio 3-0 en route to their third consecutive Super Cup trophy, a result that forms part of their four-game winning streak against domestic rivals. Simone Inzaghi’s men can’t care less about departing Giuseppe Meazza for this contest as they head into proceedings as the only Serie A side yet to lose an away league game this season (W8, D2). Much of the credit for their formidable form on the road goes to a water-tight backline that’s conceded a league-low four goals on ten top-flight travels this season. All that bodes well for Inter’s bid to return to the Serie A summit following Juventus’ home draw against Empoli yesterday.