Inter Milan vs. Chievo Verona: Match preview, how to watch and live stream

Inter Milan get back to action after a late Mauro Icardi penalty saved them from a draw against Udinese last weekend.

Now, the Nerazzurri will travel to Verona to take on Serie A cellar-dwellers Chievo.

Chievo sit at the bottom of the league table, four points back of Frosinone while Internazionale are in third, six points back of Napoli and five points in front of AC Milan.

Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

Inter Milan news

Radja Nainggolan is not expected to start and may not even play against Chievo and Kwadwo Asamoah is out on suspension.

However, Inter boss Luciano Spalletti should field a solid striking team with Joao Mario expected to earn a start and the impressive Matteo Politano working the wing along with Ivan Perisic.

Danilo D’Ambrosio should start in place of Asamoah and Sime Vrsaljko should also be part of the starting XI as he is back to full strength.

The struggle for Inter won’t be getting shots on goal as it faces one of the worst defenses in the league; it will be finding the back of the net.

Last weekend, in a 1-0 win against Udinese, Inter Milan had 22 shots, but only four were on target. Even the set piece game struggled as the Nerazzurri had 10 corners and were unable to convert on any of them.

For Inter to be successful against Chievo — or any other team in the league — they have to be more precise with their shots. Getting around 20 percent shots on target is simply unacceptable. This is a match where the striking side of the ball can earn a lot of confidence playing on the road against a much weaker opponent.

Projected lineup: Handanovic; Vrsaljko, Skriniar, De Vrij, D’Ambrosio; Brozovic, Valero; Politano, Mario, Perisic, Icardi.

Photo by Mario Carlini / Iguana Press/Getty Images

Chievo Verona news

Lowly Chievo will face Inter with a new manager as Dominico Di Carlo took charge of the Gialloblu just a month ago.

Ivan Radovanovic will be out of the match due to a suspension giving Nicola Rigoni the opportunity to start in his spot. Joel Obi will slot into the midfield while Emmanuele Giaccherini should start behind Riccardio Meggiorini and Sergio Pellissier.

The Chievo attack has left little to be desired this season, scoring just 12 goals while the defense has allowed 32 for the second-worst goal differential in the league behind Frosinone’s -24.

With Icardi finding form despite the continued absence of Nainggolan, Inter’s offense should have little difficulty getting shots on.

Defensively, because of Chievo’s inability to score goals — also the second-worst in the league behind Frosinone — having Asamoah out should be of little concern for the Nerazzurri.

Projected lineup: Sorrentino; Bani, Rossettini, Barba, Jaroszynski; Giaccherini, Rigoni, Hetemaj; Birsa; Pellissier, Stepinski.​

Match information

Time and Date: 6 p.m. (Milan) 12 p.m. (EST), Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018

Where: Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi (Verona)

How to watch: In the United States, you can catch the match on ESPN+ and Rai Italia America. Eleven Sports 1 UK will broadcast the match in the United Kingdom. If you are in Italy, the match will be shown on Sky Sport Serie A and Sky Calcio 2.

Click here to find out where you can watch the match anywhere in the world.

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