Fiorentina vs Inter Milan
Luciano Spalletti takes his Inter Milan side to the beautiful city of Florence this weekend, but they have serious business to do at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Inter has been sitting in third place in Serie A for some time now, and with a big enough gap to fifth place to put them in pole position for a Champions League berth next season. But it hasn’t been plain sailing for the Nerazzurri in recent weeks, a stutter in form coinciding with star striker Mauro Icardi causing headaches over contract negotiations.
Meanwhile, it’s all looking rosy for hosts Fiorentina who are on a nice run which has taken them into Europa League contention, and they aren’t out of the race for a top four place. So the Viola has momentum.
Inter has steadied itself with a couple of league wins over the last couple of weeks and Serie A 2019 betting odds are still confident of a top four position, but that could change quickly if the wheels fall off again.
Talking Points
Is Inter better off without Mr and Mrs Icardi?
Mauro Icardi has had his fair share of Serie A 2019 news headlines over the last few weeks as the Argentine hit man has been getting up the noses of the club’s hierarchy. The club’s top scorer has been sitting in the stands with his wife and agent, Wanda, while contract negotiations become ever more fractious.
A run of one point from three games put the pressure on the Nerazzurri and with rumours of a poor atmosphere in the dressing room; accusing fingers have been pointed in the direction of Icardi’s wife and agent, Wanda. Manchester United are reported to be interested in taking him to the Premier League, but they’ll have to pay around 100 million Euros to seal the deal.
Spalletti responded by leaving his star player out, and the rest of his team has responded with four straight wins, two crucial victories in Serie A, against Sampdoria and Parma and a convincing two leg Europa League win over Rapid Vienna. So Inter now has a four point lead over city rivals Milan, and they are five points ahead of Roma in fifth, but both have picked up four points more than Inter over the past five games.
That is the kind of move that can cause nerves to set in but, for the moment the Nerazzurri is keeping its head.
Crashing out of the Champions League after looking comfortable in their group was hard to take, losing to Spurs in the final match, so Spalletti’s team won’t want to give up a place in next year’s premier European competition.
Pioli’s Viola has the momentum
Inter has regained some stability but the hosts have the greater momentum. After a distinctly average first half of the season Stefano Pioli has his team playing with confidence and ambition, with some eye-catching results in recent weeks. The Viola destroyed Eusebio’s Roma in the Coppa Italia last month with a stunning 7-1 victory over the Giallorossi.
A home draw with Juventus’ closest rivals Napoli showed the grittier side of Pioli’s set-up, and then they were back on the attack in a 1-4 away win to Spal. Giovanni Simeone was on target for his fifth goal of the league season and he has been a key creative outlet for the Viola, with three assists. Cristiano Biraghi has made five assists this season and the main beneficiary has been top scorer Marco Benassi, who has seven goals to his name.
Pioli’s team has won five and drawn three of the last eight, in all competitions, reaching the Coppa Italia semi-final, and will pose a big threat to Inter’s recovery.
History
It is little surprise that Inter has had the better of the head to heads, winning 25 to Fiorentina’s 12, and their have been ten draws since 1994. The Nerazzurri won the return fixture in Milan by 2-1 earlier in the season and is unbeaten in three against the Viola.
But Fiorentina has not lost against Inter in the last four meetings in Florence.
Betting Tip
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Fiorentina vs Inter Milan | Fiorentina, Draw no Bet @ 1.97 |
| February 25, 03:30(GMT+8) |
We can hardly split these two teams, with the latest SBOBET odds Viola is at 2.68 and Inter at 2.68, while the draw could be good value at 3.05.
Inter has looked reasonably comfortable in third place for some time, but having conceded some ground to the chasing pack there is a lot of pressure on this one. And the Viola comes into the game brimming with confidence, not a lot to lose and plenty to play for.
So I’m backing the Viola to extend their home run against Inter and they might even take all three points!
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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