Serie A: Friday Night Date for Inter and La Dea

Inter Milan vs Atalanta

All eyes will be on Milan on Friday, as Matchday 3 of Serie A opens up with a Giuseppe Meazza cracker as champions Inter Milan host Atalanta.

Inter boss Simone Inzaghi has his sights set on a successful defence of the Scudetto his team won so impressively last season, and they have made a decent start, and Atalanta will surely be among the leading pack again after they finished fourth last term.

Gian Piero Gasperini has been in Atalanta for eight years now as La Dea have become one of the most admired teams in football, winning the Europa League in spectacular fashion last season.

So far, I Nerazzurri have picked up four points—a 2-2 draw away to Genoa followed by a 2-0 win at home to Lecce—whilst Atalanta had won 0-4 away to Lecce before falling 2-1 to Torino in Turin.

The SBOTOP Serie A 2024 odds for this one point to more success for Inter and another early setback for La Dea.

Talking Points

Martinez is touch and go

2024 Capocannoniere winner Lautaro Martinez missed Inter Milan’s victory over Lecce last week after he picked up a groin injury following the season opener in Genoa.

The 27-year-old Argentine is back in training and being evaluated day by day according to reports in Milan. The club skipper felt a muscle problem in training last week and has gradually increased his workload over the past couple of days.

The pre-season odds backed a successful defence of the title for Inter; a return for Martinez will certainly strengthen Inzaghi’s hand, but he will not rush his star man back if he is not 100 per cent ready.

Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi won’t rush Lautaro Martinez back for their Serie A home match against Atalanta — Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez reacts during their Serie A season opener against Genoa

Inzaghi has firepower elsewhere in his line-up.

Marcus Thuram scored a brace in Genoa, whilst Matteo Darmian and Hakan Calhanoglu were on target in the victory over Lecce.

After Darmian scored an early opener, Calhanoglu converted his 17^th penalty out of 17 17 in Serie A as I Nerazzurri coasted to three points. And, in the absence of Martinez, new recruit Mehdi Taremi—signed in summer from Porto—impressed on his first start, teeing up Darmian for the opening goal.

Midfield recruit Piotr Zielinski—signed from Napoli—is yet to make an appearance but his debut can’t be far away, and I expect Inzaghi to give the gifted Pole some minutes on Friday.

Cuadrado heads to Atalanta

In other Serie A 2024 news, emerging from Bergamo, has revealed that 36-year-old Colombian wide man Juan Cuadrado has signed for Atalanta and could be in line for a sensational appearance against his last club Inter Milan on Friday.

The six-time Scudetto winner is a Juventus legend and he has arrived in Atalanta having been released by Inter in the summer. He had a tough time in Milan last season, suffering an Achilles injury which kept him out of action for four months until he returned in April for the title run.

He is an experienced campaigner and Cuadrado can operate as a winger, a wing-back or in an inverted position; he will be a valuable addition to this talented Atalanta squad.

Two other new recruits had a field day in La Dea’s opening match as Azzurri striker Mateo Retegui and loanee midfielder Marco Brescianini both scored a brace. But La Dea’s trip to Turin was something of a washout after a bright start.

Retegui scored his third goal in two starts to give La Dea a lead but Il Toro fought back to win the game 2-1.

There is unhelpful noise in Bergamo around the future of forward Ademola Lookman who scored a stunning hat-trick in the Europa League final in May. The 26-year-old had a brilliant season in 2023/24, scoring 17 goals and making ten assists and still has two years to run on his current deal.

But, with four days left of the summer transfer window to go, some of Europe’s biggest clubs—Premier League title chasers Arsenal included—are pondering a late move.

History

With 29 wins to nine, Inter Milan have had a lot of success in this fixture over the years; they have won the last five, including a 4-0 rout at the San Siro in February.

Inter haven’t lost any of their last 14 games at home and I find it hard to believe that run will end on Friday.