Inter v Chievo: Who'll Stop the Rain?

What: Our Last Hope for Redemption before we Really Flush this Season Down the Toilet
Where: Home, Sweet Home
When: Sunday, 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific, 2:45pm eastern)
How to Watch: Live on RAI International and beIN Sport (other channels here), or find a stream (check here).


Statistics (Serie A):

That one win was way back in 2001 and was Chievo's first ever trip to the San Siro. During the good years (2006, 2008, and 2010) we managed to put four years running (remember when we could score goals? Those were the days). Last season, this game finished 1-0 with a goal from Thiago Motta.

Boy, this sure feels like a loooong time ago:

THEM

Chievo are doing reasonably well this year. Not spectacularly - I dont think they will find a spot in Europe or anything but neither do they look to be in any danger of relegation. On the face of it, they have a miserable away record of three wins and eight losses (which is only slightly worse than ours of six, one, and five). Look a little closer, though, and you see that those three wins have come in their last five away games, including a 0-1 win away to Lazio (something we couldn't do). So maybe things are looking up for them... just in time for their visit to the San Siro... just my luck.

Anyway, they made quite a few purchases over the winter break, including swapping keepers with Palermo (Sorrentino for Ukjani), picked up three defenders (Acerbi, Sampirisi, and Spyropoulus), and a couple midfielders (Hauche and Seymour). Sampirisi started last game against Juve but was subbed out at the half. Seymour also played a half so it looks like we may see some of the new guys tomorrow. Hooray?

Chievo adds these new guys to a few pretty good ones already on the roster. Their high scorer is Paloschi, of recent Milan fame. In the back they have Marco Andreolli, a player Inter has been linked with for years, it seems. Oh, and he has two goals as well.

La Gazzetta thinks Corini will play five in the back:

And I really hope Strama has a plan for that because I have just learned how to spell his name correctly and I really dont want to learn a new coach's name. Ugh.

HIYAAAA! via www.inter.it

US

Andrea Stramaccioni has called up 21 players:

Goalkeepers: Handanovic, Belec, Carrizo;
Defenders: Silvestre, Schelotto, Ranocchia, Pereira, Juan Jesus, Jonathan, Nagatomo;
Midfielders: Zanetti, Stankovic, Kovacic, Alvarez, Kuzmanovic, Cambiasso, Gargano;
Forwards: Palacio, Rocchi, Milito, Cassano

The hospital has cleared out a bit but Castellazzi, Samuel, Mudingayi, and Obi are injured. Best just to forget about Gaby for the rest of the season. He wont be back until next fall at the earliest. Oh, and Guarin and Chivu are disqualified. Great.

Since we dont have Chivu or Samuel and have been giving up goals like they are going out of style, the thought is that Strama will play four at the back with Zanetti, Ranocchia, Juan Jesus, and Naga. We'll see, maybe that will work. Hope so. On the up side, Milito is back. So far these season, when he plays, Inter doesn't lose. We dont always win, but a point is a point and at this stage, I will take what we can get. Also, I think there were similar rumblings of Crisis when we went to Chievo for the away version of this fixture in September. The win at the Bentigodi started a streak of good fortune that saw us win both the Milan derby and the Derby d'Italia. So maybe we can parley this bad run of form into something positive, yes?

Is it just me or does the new guy look like Captain Morgan? Argh, me matey. via www.inter.it

Also, I think we Inter fans need to rethink our expectations. I think the heady days of those five back-to-back scudetti and that triple has blown our heads waaaay up into the clouds. The fact is, that isn't going to happen again any time soon. At least not until the club stabilizes the finances and figures out a way to pay a bit more for salary. And finds someone who can score some goals. That would be helpful as well. The money thing would help with that as well, though.
So, lets not let this bad run of form get us down. We need to be patient and keep our heads up. Sure, it may take a good long while before we get our next high so we need to revel in the small things:
We get a goal tomorrow? YIPEE!!!
We keep a clean sheet? FAN-FREAKING-TABULOUS.
We manage to somehow not lose? BEST DAY EVER!!!!

And if none of those things happen tomorrow? Well, there is always next time.

Seriously. It will be ok. The sun will rise. I just know it.

FORZA INTER

How about a little look back (I love these things).