Inter Milan vs Monza

Inter Milan and Monza renew hostilities as the 2023/24 Serie A campaign gets underway at Giuseppe Meazza.

Though only one side to have finished last season in the upper half of the Serie A table lost more league games than Inter Milan, Simone Inzaghi’s side secured a third-place finish. However, a second consecutive Coppa Italia triumph and a first appearance in the Champions League final since 2010 proved Inzaghi’s managerial credentials. The former Lazio boss has overseen a raft of summer arrivals and departures. Romelu Lukaku, Edin Dzeko, Andre Onana, and Marcelo Brozovic are no longer parts of the Meazza dressing room. It will be up to Yann Sommer, Davide Frattesi, Marcus Thuram, and Marko Arnautovic to inspire Inter to a third successive day-one win under Inzaghi. However, ‘I Nerazzurri’ cannot afford to take Monza lightly after going winless in both last season’s league H2Hs (D1, L1).

Despite finishing in the lower reaches, Monza won over the hearts of neutral supporters last term, amassing more points (52) than any other newly-promoted side in Europe’s top-five leagues. Their impressive points haul was also the second-best tally for any debutant in Serie A history, highlighting the level of optimism streaming through Raffaele Palladino’s veins. But the Italian tactician should not get ahead of himself despite overseeing six consecutive league travels without losing (W3, D3) before slumping to a dreadful 5-2 defeat at Atalanta on the final 2022/23 Serie A weekend. The visitors are no strangers to punching above their weight, beating Inter and Juventus away from home in 2023 via a combined score of 3-0.