Despite ongoing struggles in the transfer market, Inter Milan started the new Serie A season with a win last week, and they visit Cagliari for their first away fixture on Monday evening.
While Inter - who have missed out on several potential recruits - took care of business against Monza on the opening day, their Sardinian counterparts settled for a point on their top-flight return.
Match preview
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Back in competitive action for the first time since their Champions League final defeat, Inter hosted Lombardy neighbours Monza at San Siro last weekend, when a Lautaro Martinez double brought the Nerazzurri a 2-0 win.
Having experienced a 2022-23 campaign of contrasts - losing nearly a third of their league games but also lifting two trophies and coming close to European glory - Simone Inzaghi's side are now seeking a sustained push for the Scudetto in the months ahead.
However, with Milan Skriniar, Andre Onana, Edin Dzeko, Marcelo Brozovic and Romelu Lukaku among those who have departed San Siro this summer, Inzaghi has been unable to secure several targets to adequately replace them, amid financial strife in the boardroom and growing concern in the stands.
One new recruit, returning striker Marko Arnautovic - who has essentially taken up Dzeko's role - set up his captain's second goal last Saturday, and as a result Inter can now win both of their first two games for a fifth straight season if they beat Cagliari.
Ahead of their trip south, the second-city club have scored in each of their last 16 league meetings with Monday's hosts, racking up no fewer than 35 goals in the process.
With new skipper Martinez starting 2023-24 like he finished last term, and both Arnautovic and French forward Marcus Thuram available to support him, Inter will surely be confident of extending that record in Sardinia, where they have won on six of their last seven visits.
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Cagliari have won only one of their last 11 league games against the Nerazzurri, losing on nine occasions, so the size of their task is quite clear ahead of the first home match of their Serie A comeback campaign.
Veteran coach Claudio Ranieri - who had a brief, unsuccessful spell as Inter boss over a decade ago - arrived midway through last season and led the Rossoblu back to the promised land via the dramatic Serie B playoffs; securing a return to the top flight just 12 months after relegation.
After their first competitive outing of 2023-24 resulted in an extra-time Coppa Italia win over Palermo earlier this month, Cagliari travelled to Turin for their league opener last week.
Restricted to just two shots on target throughout the 90 minutes, Ranieri's men were held to a goalless draw by Torino, but picking up such points on the road could hold the key to staving off an immediate return to Italy's second tier.
Against Inter, Cagliari will be aiming to go unbeaten in their first two Serie A fixtures for the first time since 2011, but in spite of having home advantage they remain outsiders to prevail on Monday evening.
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Team News
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As Inter's search for defensive signings intensifies, Simone Inzaghi will once again be without Francesco Acerbi - a muscular problem sidelines one of his tried and trusted back three. Stefan de Vrij should therefore continue to deputise.
Up front, the Nerazzurri are led by Lautaro Martinez, who averages a league goal every 89 minutes in 2023 and has scored eight goals in as many league matches against Cagliari.
Featuring in a familiar central trio, ex-Rossoblu midfielder Nicolo Barella has previously laid on four assists against his former club in Serie A - more than against any other opponent.
While Yann Sommer starts in goal and Marcus Thuram should continue in attack, fellow new boys Davide Frattesi, Marko Arnautovic, Yann Bisseck and Juan Cuadrado may all have to make do with a place on the visitors' bench.
The hosts, meanwhile, could include their own off-season recruits, such as Ibrahim Sulemana, Tommaso Augello and on-loan striker Eldor Shomurodov. The latter battles it out for selection with another loanee, Inter-owned Gaetano Oristanio, Zito Luvumbo and veteran striker Leonardo Pavoletti.
Pavoletti - who grabbed the late winner in June's playoff final - has scored in three of six home games played against Inter in Serie A, including the decisive strike in Cagliari's only victory over the Nerazzurri in 11 attempts, back in March 2019.
As on the opening day, Claudio Ranieri will be missing long-term absentees Marco Mancosu, Gianluca Lapadula and Marko Rog.
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Radunovic; Obert, Dossena, Goldaniga; Zappa, Sulemana, Makoumbou, Nandez, Augello; Orisitanio, Pavoletti
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Darmian, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
We say: Cagliari 1-3 Inter Milan
For all their troubles in the transfer market, Inter possess the type of firepower that few clubs in Serie A can compete with. With a well-balanced and relatively settled setup - plus several new options on the bench - the Nerazzurri should again prove their title credentials with a comprehensive win in Cagliari.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
