Inter Milan Vs Roma – Official Lineups: Lautaro Returns Alongside Thuram As Acerbi Starts In Defence
Inter Milan head coach Cristian Chivu has decided to start Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thura, for the first time since February in Sunday’s must-win Easter Serie A clash with Roma, with Francesco Acerbi starting in defence.
The official lineups for tonight’s Serie A match, which kicks off at San Siro at 20:45 local time, have been published.
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Inter have not won in three matches, following their 2-0 victory over Genoa on February 28th, defeats and draws against Milan, Atalanta and Fiorentina have trimmed the gap at the top.
The Nerazzurri head into this fixture six points clear of Napoli and seven ahead of Milan with eight games remaining.
Therefore, Chivu names his strongest available lineup, with the enormous news being the return of captain Lautaro Martinez, absent from Serie A since the February 14th clash with Juventus.
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Inter Milan Vs Roma – Acerbi Starts As Chivu Manages Defensive Absences
The forced defensive changes provide the other major talking point.
Carlos Augusto serves a one-game suspension while Bisseck remains injured, creating a small but significant reshuffle at the back.
Francesco Acerbi earns the starting berth over Stefan de Vrij, completing a back three alongside Manuel Akanji and Alessandro Bastoni.
Therefore, de Vrij takes his place on the bench once again.
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Inter Milan Vs Roma – ThuLa Reunited As Mkhitaryan Returns To Bench
The main headline is the reunion of the ThuLa partnership.
In particular, the return of Lautaro Martinez.
The captain starts alongside a Thuram reinvigorated by his France return, the Frenchman scoring in his most recent international appearance.
The first-choice midfield five also returns in full.
Dumfries and Dimarco start as wing-backs either side of Barella, Calhanoglu and Zielinski.
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan returns to the squad after his injury layoff and takes a place on the bench.
Inter Milan Vs Roma – Official Starting Lineups: Lautaro & Acerbi Start
Inter (3-5-2): 1 Sommer; 25 Akanji, 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni; 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella, 20 Calhanoglu, 7 Zielinski, 32 Dimarco; 9 Thuram, 10 Lautaro Martinez. (C)
Bench: 12 Di Gennaro, 13 J. Martinez, 6 De Vrij, 8 Sucic, 11 Luis Henrique, 14 Bonny, 16 Frattesi, 17 Diouf, 22 Mkhitaryan, 36 Darmian, 43 Cocchi, 94 Esposito.
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Coach: Chivu.
Suspended: Carlos Augusto (1 match).
Unavailable: Bisseck.
Roma (3-4-2-1): 99 Svilar; 23 Mancini, 5 Ndicka, 22 Hermoso; 2 Rensch, 4 Cristante, 61 Pisilli, 19 Celik; 18 Soulé, 7 Pellegrini; 14 Malen.
Bench: 70 De Marzi, 95 Gollini, 3 Angeliño, 8 El Aynaoui, 12 Tsimikas, 20 Venturino, 24 Ziółkowski, 78 Vaz, 87 Ghilardi, 92 El Shaarawy, 97 Zaragoza.
Coach: Gasperini.
Suspended: none.
Unavailable: Dovbyk, Ferguson, Koné, Wesley, Dybala.
