Inter Milan vs. SPAL: Preview, Analysis, and live stream

Ah, the joys of winning. Nothing ever beats that feeling of seeing your squad consistently overcoming opposition and going on a victory streak. I’ve heard some fans voice their displeasure, saying things like « We were lucky » and « We didn’t deserve to win this one ».

I’m not even ok with those comments.

Sometimes Inter Milan doesn’t play consistently for the integrity of the game, and the goals might look laborious, but we have been playing good football recently. It’s not scrubs that we’ve beaten either. And finally, this Dominic Toretto quote sums what we should be thinking, pretty accurately :

It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or by a mile, winning’s winning.

What more could we possibly ask for?

With a 5-game winning streak and a recently acquired 4th place in the Serie A standings on it’s hands, Inter will head to the Stadio Paolo Mazza to take on SPAL. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the squad right now, and we’ve been performing well, looking more or less like we’ve turned the corner. But wariness is recommended as usual.

Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Team News – Inter Milan

Inter has won it’s past three league games, against Sampdoria (the league’s best defense so far), Fiorentina, and Cagliari. The level of play has been getting better recently, too. The Nerazzurri have been ruthlessly dominating possession (59.4% per game, 2nd-best mark of the Serie A), passing accurately (470 per match, 4th best in the league), and shooting a lot (12.1 shots, 5th best in the league).

While we still have a long way to go in creating chances (12 per game, only 11th in the league), scoring goals (10 so far, the tenth mark in the Serie A), and style of play (too many crosses!!!!), it’s been refreshing to see these kind of performances. Some players have stepped up their game lately: Names like Matteo Politano (who’s been having the impact I thought Keita Balde would’ve had), Marcelo Brozovic ( the player with the most passes in the league), Danilo D’Ambrosio, Kwadwo Asamoah, Samir Handanovic instantly come to mind. Guys like Miranda, Keita Balde, and Borja Valero could see the pitch in this one, allowing some rest for the starters,

So far, Inter’s greatest enemy is fatigue due to the volume of games played in such a short period. So while we have the momentum on our side heading into this game, and the confidence, we should be wary and not take anything for granted.

Photo by Paolo Rattini/Getty Images

Team News – SPAL

If there’s an opposite to Inter’s form of the moment, it’s probably looking like SPAL. They’re riding a three-game losing streak, in which they have scored a single goal, and conceded seven. These losses have come at the hands of Sampdoria, Fiorentina, and Sassuolo, teams that have been performing well these last games. They’re currently sitting at the 13th spot of the table, even though they started the season with two wins.

They certainly don’t look dangerous now, but they’re sneaky: one of their wins came against a ball-dominant Atalanta side (2-0) in a game where they conceded 58% of possession, which is kinda like the way Inter has been playing lately. While they are middling at best on offense, and despite their recent bad results, they are surprisingly not bad on defense: they tackle a lot (17.7/game), rank 8th in interceptions (10.7), and have three clean sheets just like us. They are very aggressive in defense (15 fouls per game, 18 yellow cards so far) and have conceded 8 goals, which is pretty interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if this game turned out to be more difficult than anticipated, especially if we step into it overconfidently.

Prediction

I think SPAL parks the bus and give us the chills with some dangerous counter attacks, but at the end of the day, our newborn success, confidence and individualities break the deadlock. 3-0 with at least one Mauro Icardi goal (Hopefully?).

What do you think? Post your comments below!

Match info

Date and time: Sunday, October 7, 2018, 2:30 p.m. (EST), 8:30 p.m. local.

Location: Stadio Paolo Mazza (Ferrara)

TV/Streaming: In the United States, the match will be streamed on ESPN+ and Rai Italia America. In the U.K., you can watch it on Eleven Sports 2 UK and in Italy, the match can be watched on Sky Go Italia.

Click here to check the viewing options in your area.