Salernitana vs Inter Milan
Stadio Arechi forms the backdrop for a lopsided Serie A encounter between bottom-half strugglers Salernitana and top-four hopefuls Inter Milan.
Despite going down 2-0 to Lazio on his touchline debut in mid-February, new Salernitana boss Paulo Sousa has helped his side steer away from the bottom three after going unbeaten in five consecutive league matches (W1, D4). Having drawn their last four Serie A games in the build-up to this fixture, Salernitana wouldn’t mind another share of the spoils despite boasting a positive all-time home H2H record against Inter (W2, L1). Already nine points clear of 18th-placed Hellas Verona, the ‘Granata’ return to the Arechi, where they’ve only won one of their seven top-flight outings in 2023 (D2, L4). But they’re unbeaten in their last two at home (W1, D1), netting at least twice on both occasions, suggesting they might give Inter a run for their money.
On the other hand, visiting Inter Milan held bitter rivals Juventus to a dramatic 1-1 Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg draw in Turin over midweek as under-pressure manager Simone Inzaghi continues to walk a tightrope. With his side losing three successive Serie A matches for the first time since 2017, including the last two without scoring, Inzaghi may hit the road unless they bounce back at Salernitana. Luckily for ‘I Nerazzurri,’ they start this round in fourth, albeit they’re level on points with fifth-placed Roma, pinpointing the significance of achieving their second straight Serie A double over the ‘Granata’ following a comfortable 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture in October. But goals have been hard to come by for Inter since the calendar year flipped to 2023, as they’ve averaged just one goal per league game in that period, compared to 2.3 per match between August and December 2022.