Serie A Preview: Chievo - Inter

Inter travel to face Chievo in a tricky fixture against a side eager to move away from the relegation zone, but the Nerazzurri have a chance of winning the Scudetto if they win this one and Juventus beat Milan...

Kick-Off: Sunday 10 May, 15:00 CET. Stadio Bentegodi, Verona.



First Scudetto Match Ball For Inter

This weekend Jose Mourinho’s Inter have an outside chance of winning the 17th Scudetto in the club’s history, but they will need a bit of help from their bitterest rivals Juventus. If the troubled Bianconeri manage to beat an in-form Milan side at San Siro, and Inter win their away match against a Chievo side hungry for points, the title race will be officially settled.

Of course, it has been that way for some time, even though some dared to suggest that Milan might be capable of a miraculous comeback after Inter’s surprise defeat to Napoli. While theoretically it was certainly possible, last week’s hard-fought 2-0 victory against Lazio has surely silenced all the doubters. The way the Nerazzurri won was typical of their season, as they struggled to create danger up front until an individual piece of skill from Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock, while their own defence was rarely troubled.




While Inter were struggling and Zlatan was misfiring, the fans started whistling the Swedish star, who was not at all pleased about that, and showed it both before and after his goal by pointing his finger to his mouth. One can see faults in both the player and the fans, who were also venting their frustration at Ibra’s admission that he is ready to move on after five years in Serie A, although they should be careful about jeering the player who is undoutedly their favourite team’s best performer.

Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic was right to get upset about the fans jeering him, but the way he reacted was certainly over the top, as he showed a blatant disrespect for his own fans. If one were to go by his behaviour in that match, a departure by the Swede at the end of the season would seem inevitable. Real Madrid are almost certain to make some kind of offer, and although president Massimo Moratti will obviously want to hold on to him at all costs, in the end if a player really wants to leave, there is not much the club can do to stop him nowadays.

Ibra will be unavailable for this match after getting himself booked last week, so it will be interesting to see how Inter will cope without him. Last week Chievo coach Domenico Di Carlo revealed that his players strongly fancied getting a result against Inter knowing that Ibrahimovic would be unavailable, which indicates how feared he is, but also that other teams know just how important he is to Inter’s play.

Chievo Not Out Of Relegation Battle Just Yet


Following their recent 2-0 away win against Siena, it looked like Chievo were only a step away from securing their Serie A survival. However, in the two subsequent games things have changed a bit, as the bottom clubs have started winning, while Chievo unluckily lost a crucial home match 2-1 against Udinese to a last-minute goal.


Domenico Di Carlo’s team did bounce back last week with a creditable 0-0 draw away to a struggling Roma side. In their last four games they have a pretty tough schedule, as after the match against Inter they will face fifth-placed Genoa away from home, fellow relegation battlers Bologna, and Napoli. With a six-point margin over the relegation zone, you would certainly fancy them to make it, but it’s been an up-and-down season for the Gialloblu, so it’s hard to say what might happen next.

They started poorly under coach Giuseppe Iachini, who brought the club back to Serie A after just one season down in Serie B, but he was unable to keep the team away from the bottom of the table in his first few months, and was replaced by Di Carlo in early November. Slowly but surely he managed to get the team into a safer position, and unless they suffer a seriously bad run of results in these last four games, that will likely be enough to keep them in Serie A.

Against Inter they have frequently managed to get the odd surprise result, and earlier this season they came close to causing a big shock in their match at San Siro. Inter went 2-0 up early in the second half, but Chievo managed to tie the game at 2-2, and only two late goals by Zlatan Ibrahimovic allowed the home side to win. In their six home games against the Nerazzurri since their first promotion to Serie A in 2001, they have lost just three times, drawing twice and winning once.




FORM GUIDE

Chievo

03/05 (Serie A): Roma-Chievo 0-0
25/04 (Serie A): Chievo-Udinese 1-2
19/04 (Serie A): Siena-Chievo 0-2
11/04 (Serie A): Chievo-Milan 0-1
05/04 (Serie A): Juventus-Chievo 3-3

Inter

02/05 (Serie A): Inter-Lazio 2-0
26/04 (Serie A): Napoli-Inter 1-0
23/04 (Coppa Italia): Inter-Sampdoria 1-0
18/04 (Serie A): Juventus-Inter 1-1
11/04 (Serie A): Inter-Palermo 2-2


TEAM NEWS

Chievo

Stephen Makinwa, Fabio Moro, Francesco Scardina, and Giuseppe Colucci are injured, while Antonio Langella and Giampiero Pinzi are suspended..

Possible formation (4-3-1-2): Sorrentino; Frey, Morero, Yepes, Mantovani; Luciano, Rigoni, Marcolini; Bentivoglio; Pellissier, Bogdani.

Inter

Maicon, Nelson Rivas, Victor Obinna are out injured, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic is suspended.

Possible formation (4-3-2-1): Julio Cesar; Zanetti, Cordoba, Samuel, Maxwell; Vieira, Cambiasso, Stankovic; Figo, Balotelli; Crespo.


PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sergio Pellissier (Chievo)

Once again the 30-year-old striker looks set to become Chievo’s top scorer, with 12 Serie A goals to his name so far. Recently he managed to score a hat-trick in the away match against Juventus, helping his side to a 3-3 draw, in what was probably one of his best matches ever. He’s currently in his seventh consecutive season with Chievo, although at this stage of his career, it’s probably unlikely he can still aim for a move to a more ambitious club.

Mario Balotelli (Inter)

After a difficult start to the season, in which coach Jose Mourinho kept him out of the team due to a poor attitude during training, lately SuperMario has become a key player for Inter again. Since scoring a crucial goal against Bologna in February, his first of the season, he has banged in six goals, including a brace in a key home game against Roma. Just like last season, he has proven decisive for Inter’s final Scudetto push.


PREDICTION

Although Chievo are always a tough nut to crack for Inter, they should be able to get all three points in this one and take another step towards the Scudetto.

Chievo-Inter 0-1