Inter Milan vs Torino preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Inter Milan will hope to go top of the table when they host an in-form Torino side at San Siro on Saturday.

The defending Serie A champions have had a challenging start to the season. Yet, they remain well-positioned to potentially top the table by the weekend as they take on a formidable Torino side at San Siro.

They currently sit in fourth place with 11 points, two points behind table leaders, Napoli.

Under Simone Inzaghi, Inter have been outstanding in recent years, building on their 2023 UEFA Champions League final appearance with a dominant Serie A run last season, securing their 20th Scudetto and earning a second star on their badge.

This season, the Nerazzurri have struggled to maintain their usual fluidity and control, having dropped points in three of their first six matches.

However, they secured a 3-2 victory over Udinese at the Stadio Friuli in last weekend’s Serie A clash before convincingly beating Serbia side, Crvena Zvezda 4-0 in the UEFA Champions League last Tuesday.

In the wake of the Nerazzurri’s late defeat to AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, captain Lautaro Martinez broke his five-game league goal drought to secure all three points against the Friulani, before coming off the bench to score in the 4-0 victory against the Serbian champions in the Champions League.

The win against the Serbian side means the Nerazzurri have now gone 10 games at San Siro without defeat in the UEFA Champions League — their longest streak since their victory over Bayern Munich in the 2010 final.

While they are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League, Inzaghi’s side has conceded twice in each of their last two matches in Serie A. They’ve also conceded at least two goals on three occasions this season, doing so on the opening day 2-2 draw against Monza, the 2-1 loss to arch-rivals AC Milan, and the recent 3-2 win against Udinese. This two-goal conceding streak is already more than they did during the entire first half of the 2023-24 season.

During their title-winning campaign, Inter were both solid at the back and clinical up front, qualities Inzaghi will aim to regain swiftly, especially with Antonio Conte’s revamped Napoli team posing an early threat.

Following the defeat to Milan that snapped a 17-match unbeaten home run in Serie A, Inzaghi is now determined to begin a new streak with a victory against the club’s former assistant coach, Paolo Vanoli.

Vanoli contributed to Inter’s 2021 title triumph as an assistant but currently holds the managerial role at Torino, having guided Venezia to Serie A last season.

With three wins from their first six league games under his leadership, Torino now have the chance to secure a fourth victory in their opening seven matches—a feat last achieved in 2015.

The Granata’s impressive start to Serie A under the Italian manager was hit with a rude awakening last weekend, as Lazio secured a 3-2 victory at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, ending their five-match unbeaten run.

Lazio were two goals ahead before Che Adams narrowed the gap, but a third from the visitors meant Saul Coco’s stoppage-time goal was merely a consolation.

However, Torino remain unbeaten away from home this season, offering some hope, though they have lost each of their last five encounters with Inter at San Siro.

Inter Milan vs Torino match details

• Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024
• Location: Milan, Italy
• Venue: San Siro
• Kick-off time: 07:45 PM BST, 06:45 UTC, 08:45 CET.
• Referee: Matteo Marcenaro
• Assistant referees: Alessandro Giallatini, Filippo Bercigli
• VAR: Rosario Abisso, Gianluca Aureliano
• Tickets: Supporters can buy Inter Milan tickets through the club exchange or via trusted resellers such as Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• Torino are undefeated in all their away matches this season

The Granata have lost their last five matches against the Nerazzurri at San Siro.

• Inter have already let in multiple goals on three occasions this season, which is more than they did during the entire first half of the last campaign.

• The Nerazzurri have a dominant head-to-head record against Torino, with 22 victories from their last 36 encounters, while Torino have only managed to win four times.

• Inter have kept clean sheets in their last four Serie A games against Torino, a streak they’ve only bettered once in their history.

• After a struggling run of just two wins in eight home matches against Torino, Inter have claimed five consecutive victories over them at San Siro.

• According to xG data, Torino’s shot-stopper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic has stopped more goals than any other keeper in Europe’s top five leagues this season.

• Inter have won just three out of their six Serie A games this season.

• Although Inter’s captain Lautaro Martinez ended his Serie A scoring drought last weekend, he hasn’t found the net at home in the league since February, enduring a run of seven consecutive home games without a goal – his second-longest scoreless spell in Serie A.

• Victory over Inter this weekend will hand Torino their fourth victory in their opening seven matches—a feat last achieved in 2015.

Team news

Italian midfielder, Nicolo Barella remains unavailable for Inter this weekend, as the Italy international continues to recover from the thigh injury he picked up during last month’s derby loss.

Either Piotr Zielinski or Davide Frattesi is expected to step in to fill his role in midfield, while Simone Inzaghi could potentially make changes to his attacking lineup.

Canada international Tajon Buchanan is still sidelined due to a leg fracture he sustained during the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America this summer.

Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic started together on Tuesday in attack, but Inzaghi’s preferred attacking pair, Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez, could return to the lineup against Torino.

Meanwhile, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic is anticipated to return as Torino’s goalkeeper after a knee injury sidelined him for their 3-2 loss against Lazio.

Dutch centre-back, Pere Schuura remains the Granata’s longest absentee with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Antonio Sanabria and former Southampton centre-forward, Che Adams are once again in contention to join captain Duvan Zapata in attack, while former West Ham United forward, Nikola Vlasic will likely start from the bench.

Predicted starting lineup

Inter Milan predicted starting lineup:

Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez.

Torino predicted starting lineup:

Milinkovic-Savic; Vojvoda, Coco, Masina; Lazaro, Ilic, Tameze, Ricci, Sosa; Sanabria, Zapata.

Prediction

Inter have been inconsistent this season despite having dropped points in three of their six matches, this season.

The 2024-25 campaign would be a more competitive campaign for the Nerazzurri especially when former Scudetto-winning manager Antonio Conte is spearheading the affairs of their rivals, Napoli — who currently sit top of the Serie A.

Inzaghi will need to navigate another victory to either be at touching distance with the Gli Azzurri or potentially go top of the table if Napoli and Juventus drop points.

Doing this against a resilient Torino side will be difficult but the defending champions will hope to use their home ground to their advantage — a ground that has seen Torino lose in their last five visits.

We’re predicting a 2-1 win for Inter Milan.