Carpi vs. Inter Milan: Preview & Live Match Thread

Match Facts

Date: Sunday, August 30, 2015

Time: 2:45pm ET/ 20:45 CET

Venue: Stadio Alberto Braglia; Modena, Italy

There's nothing better than starting the season with a win, even if we had to wait the 94th minute before seeing us score a goal against a 10-men Atalanta. Inter fans were very anxious to know how the new players would have performed in their first official match in a black and blue shirt, and they surely weren't disappointed with what they saw last week.

This Sunday Inter is facing Carpi, which were absolutely crushed by Sampdoria last week. It wasn't unexpected though, since this is the first Serie A appearance of their history, but they conceded 5 goals just in the first half and their defense seemed clueless about how to stop Muriel and Eder - who has been linked again to Inter lately - allowing both to score an easy double.

Nobody expects the Nerazzurri to score 7 goals in the second week of the season like they did last year against Sassuolo, but what we would like to see in this match is an improved game and more quality from our midfielders, who lacked creativity and efficacy not only against Atalanta, but in almost every preseason friendly. After fixing the defensive issues Inter's biggest task right now is to develop a style of play that allows them to be more threatening to the opposition, using short passes and a higher pace and also trying to engage the strikers in the maneuver even more.

Icardi (right thigh) and Brozovic (twisted right ankle) are still doubtful for the match and even if they will be cleared to play, it seems highly unlikely for them to start the match this Sunday. Jovetic will replace Icardi in the striker position as he already did in the 14th minute against Atalanta last week, while Hernanes will be our trequartista, a role that suits him perfectly.

One thing that Mancini and his play will have to absolutely avoid this week is to underestimate the enemy. Yes, Carpi is not one of the most talented and solid sides of the Serie A at the moment, but they will be motivated to play a lot better than what they did last week and besides, it will be an historical night for them since they will play their first Serie A home match, giving them one more reason to make a good impression in front of their supporters.

Projected Starting XIs:

Carpi

Inter