Inter Milan vs. Como (December 23, 2024) Prelude

Dec 22 (Reuters) – Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi is unsure whether defenders Stefan de Vrij and Matteo Darmian will be available for Monday’s Serie A game against promoted Como at San Siro.

Champions Inter are in third place in the league with 34 points from 15 games, their only league defeat coming against AC Milan in September. They are four points behind leaders Napoli with two games remaining and are three points behind Atalanta.

Inter are already struggling with the absences of Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard, although their defensive problems have been alleviated by Alessandro Bastoni, De Vrij, Darmian and Yann Bisseck, who have cemented their place in the defence.

Both Pavard and Acerbi have struggled with hamstring injuries this season. Acerbi returned briefly last month to play against Napoli and Hellas Verona, but has missed Inter’s last five games, while Pavard has also been out since the start of December.

“We are struggling with some failures in defense. Pavard and Acerbi are not available and today De Vrij and Darmian also had problems,” Inzaghi told reporters on Sunday.

“We will assess with the medical staff in the morning whether they are fit; at the moment that is not the case. But we are confident that we can ask them to make some sacrifices.”

“We are currently hoping that Acerbi and Pavard will return as soon as possible.”

Inter’s opponents Como, led by former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, beat Atalanta away and Verona at home in September before snapping a nine-game winning streak. They crowned their victory last week with a 2-0 win over AS Roma.

“I like Fabregas a lot. His principles are clear and his team plays quality football,” said Inzaghi.

“I followed him in Serie B last year and this year they competed strongly against top teams in Serie A. Como is a team with great quality and always plays to win.”

Inzaghi said his side would like to end a year in which they won the Scudetto on a high note. “We see the difficulty of a league in which all teams compete and there is a lot of competition,” added the 48-year-old Italian.

“We know we have to step up because next year will not be like this year, it will be a completely different fight.” (Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, Editing by Pritha Sarkar)