Inter aim to bounce back from their defeat at Lazio last time out in Serie A when they welcome struggling Sampdoria to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday night.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Inter (3-4-1-2): Padelli; Godin, De Vrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Brozovic, Barella, Vecino; Young; Lukaku, Martinez.
Unavailable: Gagliardini, Esposito, Sensi, Asamoah.
Sampdoria (4-4-2): Audero; Bereszynski, Tonelli, Colley, Augello; Thorsby, Ekdal, Linetty, Jankto; Gabbiadini, Quagliarella.
Suspended: Murru, Ramirez.
Unavailable: Ferrari.
KEY STATISTICS
– Inter have won each of their last five league games against Sampdoria; this is the longest current such run for the Nerazzurri against any team currently in Serie A.
– Inter lost their last league game against Lazio; no side coached by Antonio Conte has lost two league games in a row since March 2018 (Chelsea in the Premier League), while in Serie A this hasn’t happened since December 2009 (Atalanta).
– Sampdoria won their last away game against Torino; coach Claudio Ranieri has not overseen two consecutive away wins in Serie A since January 2012 with Inter.
– The only previous season in which Sampdoria gained 23 or fewer points after their first 24 games of a single Serie A season dates back to 1998/99, a season which ended with relegation for the Blucerchiati.
– Inter have scored 24 goals from new signings this season, at least six more than any other team, while Sampdoria are level with Lazio as the two sides with the fewest such goals (one, Federico Bonazzoli in September 2019).
– Sampdoria have not yet won a single game in Serie A this season against an opponent currently in the top half of the table (D3 L9), while Inter are unbeaten against teams from the bottom half (W10 D3).
– Sampdoria have scored the first goal of the match in fewer games (four) than any other side in Serie A this season, while no side has scored the first goal more times than Inter (19, as Juventus).
– Lautaro Martínez has scored in each of his last two home appearances in Serie A and could become the first Inter player to find the net in three home games in a row in the competition since Mauro Icardi, in October 2018.
– Inter defender Milan Skriniar made his Serie A debut with Sampdoria, making 38 appearances between 2016 and 2017; three of the Slovakian’s four goals in the competition have been scored in San Siro, the first of which coming against the Blucerchiati in October 2017.
– Sampdoria forward Manolo Gabbiadini, who has two goals in his last three Serie A appearances after having not scored in his previous five, has scored only one goal in 10 league games against Inter, doing so in his last away meeting with them in February 2019.
