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It may be too good to be true but remember last season when Inter Milan rode a 16-match unbeaten streak into the winter break.
Now, Inter Milan look to reach the halfway point of one of its biggest winning streaks in recent years when they travel to face Atalanta at the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.
Inter currently sit tied with Napoli in second place, six points behind Juventus. Inter hold the advantage on goal difference with Napoli. Atalanta struggled to start the season but have won three of their last four matches to move into 10th overall in Serie A.
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Inter team news
Striker Mauro Icardi sat out last weekend’s big win over Genoa but is likely to return to the starting XI this weekend after scoring an equalizer against Barcelona in the Champions League midweek.
Reports in Italy may suggest a bit of a change in the lineup for Luciano Spalletti as Radja Nainggolan — who scored against Genoa — may be rested to keep from aggravating his injury suffered in the Derby della Madonnina win over AC Milan. He could be replaced with Joao Mario. However, those reports are not definite so Nainggolan may likely get the start.
That said, Mario — who has come on strong of late — may have found some redemption with Inter after sitting on the bench for the first part of the season. His three assists and one goal against Genoa showed he could still be a valuable part of the Inter Milan lineup.
This will be an extremely difficult game because it comes before the international break and after Tuesday’s game,” Spalletti said, in his prematch press conference Saturday. “From a mental perspective, it’s vital to treat the next game like a Champions League game. Atalanta have the potential to be a team near the top of the league, they just made a slow start to the season.”
He said the match will be a solid indicator of where the team is in its development this season and that they will “need to keep motivating ourselves to constantly improve.”
Probable starting lineup: Handanovic; Vrsaljko, Skriniar, De Vrij, Asamoah; Brozovic, Vecino, Nainggolan; Perisic, Politano, Icardi.
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Atalanta team news
While Atalanta has shown good form over its last three matches, injury has hampered the club from Bergamo.
It is likely that forward Marco Tumminello and defender Andrea Masiello could both miss Sunday while center back Marco Varnier is out at least until January with a cruciate ligament rupture.
The sting of dropping out of the Europa League following a third qualifying round loss to Copenhagen set the tone early for Atalanta as they have just four wins in 11 matches, but three of those wins have come in the last four.
It shows the Orobici may be returning to their previous form from last season
Probable starting lineup: Berisha; Mancini, Palomino, Toloi; Gosens, Freuler, De Roon, Hateboer; Gomez, IIicic, Barrow.
Match Info
Time and Date: 6:30 a.m. (ET) Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018
Location: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia (Bergamo)
TV/Streaming: In the United States, the match will be broadcast on ESPN2. If you don’t have cable, follow this link to FuboTV. In the United Kingdom, the match will be on Eleven Sports 2 UK. If you are in Italy, the broadcast will be on DAZN Italy.
Click here to find how you can watch the match in your part of the world.
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