The twenty-sixth round of Serie A opens tonight with the match between Spezia and Inter. The hosts are looking for points to guarantee survival after missing a match point against Verona last weekend, while Inter need an away win after last week’s ‘cold shower’ in Bologna.In the next three matches, Simone Inzaghi cannot secure a third year on the Inter bench, but he can lose the few chances he has left to lead the Nerazzurri in the next season as well.The coach of Inter must not lose or draw with Spezia because his team has already left the pitch with their heads down seven times in Serie A and lost ten points in matches against Monza, Sampdoria, Empoli and Bologna in 2023 alone. A flop against Porto is also a no-no because Inter are in desperate need of money, and passage to the Champions League quarterfinals guarantees at least an additional 20 million euros, plus prestige and the fact that Inter have not been among the top eight teams in Europe for 12 years.Back to business tonight ⚽ 🧤 #SpeziaInter #ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/8d6ms22DJE— Inter (@Inter_en) March 10, 2023 Back to domestic topics. Tonight against Spezia, Inter should present themselves in a fairly attacking formation as Dumfries and Gosens should be confirmed in the starting line-up. Romelu Lukaku will lead Inter’s attack, and it remains to be seen whether Inzaghi will spare Lautaro Martinez before visiting Porto and send Edin Dzeko to the field from the first minute.Quite a risky move if you look at it through the effectiveness of Lukaku and Dzeko in 2023: only two goals in Serie A. Dzeko has not found the net in the league since January 4, and Lukaku has only scored from the penalty spot – and that was from a re-take penalty.Also, Inzaghi is considering whether to rest two veterans – Accerbi, turned 35, and Mkhitaryan, who blew out 34 cake-candles a month and a half ago – before the match against Porto, since the Italian and the Armenian were the most consistent players in 2023 and three matches in within nine days they could leave a mark on their performance. Among the starters should be Marcelo Brozović in the metronome role, while Correa and Skriniar are still out of rotation due to injuries.If you thought Pogba had changed – you were wrongIn the new year, Inter recorded only one away win (against Cremonese) with two draws (Monza and Sampdoria) and a defeat against Bologna. On the other hand, Spezia did not win at their Alberto Picco Stadium for half a year. The last time they celebrated was in October against Sampdoria, since then there have been five draws and four defeats.Since the change on the bench of the team from Liguria, the new coach Leonardo Semplici recorded two draws, against Udinese and Verona. The host will not be able to count on Reca because of card suspension and the injured Holm, Moutinho and Bastoni.Projected lineups for today’s Serie A game between Spezia and Inter. (📸 | GdS) pic.twitter.com/h4nrDSV3Bd— Raffaele (@ItalianoCalcio) March 10, 2023 SERIE A – ROUND 26Friday22:45: (8.50) Spezia (4.60) Inter (1.48)Saturday17:00: (3.00) Empoli (3.35) Udinese (2.60)20:00: (1.73) Napoli (3.90) Atalanta (5.50)22:45: (3.10) Bologna (3.20) Lazio (2.60)Sunday14:30: (3.10) Lecce (3.00) Torino (2.75)17:00: (4.50) Cremonese (3.60) Fiorentina (1.94)17:00: (2.65) Verona (3.15) Monza (3.10)20:00: (1.79) Roma (3.70) Sassuolo (5.40)22:45: (1.41) Juventus (4.90) Sampdoria (11.0)Monday22:45: (1.30) Milan (6.00) Salernitana (11.0)***odds are subject to change***
