The Italian Serie A season ends this Sunday with title-chasing Inter Milan playing host to Sampdoria in a match that could determine the winner of the 2021/22 Scudetto.
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) (Milan)
Key Statistics
Inter Milan have lost just one of their last 12 games (eight wins and three draws).
The hosts have won their last three home league games, scoring nine goals and conceding three.
They have scored 81 goals in the league this season, which is the highest number of goals scored in the league this season.
They have conceded just 32 times, the joint-second lowest goals in the league behind AC Milan (31).
Sampdoria are part of seven Serie A teams that have conceded 60+ goals in the league this season.
The visitors are winless in their last three away league games (one draw and two losses).
Head to head
Sampdoria have a poor record at the San Siro against Inter having lost to the hosts in four consecutive encounters here, conceding 12 goals in the process. The visitors have only won once at the San Siro (against Inter) since 1996 (D6, L15).
Latest performances in all competitions
Inter Milan: W-W-W-W-L
Sampdoria: W-L-W-D-L
Inter Milan
Inter Milan’s desire to win a second consecutive Scudetto title will reach its boiling point this Sunday as they take on Sampdoria.
The hosts made sure that they took their title tussle with AC Milan to the last day when they beat Cagliari 3-1 last time out. And so, they come into this last round of games sitting two points off their San Siro rivals AC Milan.
Their only chance of an unlikely title win rests on them winning this game as AC Milan will win the title if they avoid defeat in their game against Sassuolo, considering their superior head-to-head record this season.
With the title no longer in their hands, they will have to focus on winning their own game, and given that they have won eight of their last 12 league games (D3, L1), they have a solid foundation to do just that.
Having already won their first Coppa Italia since 2010/11 last week after dispatching Juventus 4-2, they’ll be determined in their search for more glory on Sunday.
Possible Inter Milan starting line-up
Samir Handanovic; Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ivan Perisic; Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Sampdoria
Unlike their hosts, who have something at stake going into this final game of the season, Sampdoria travel to Milan with nothing but pride to play for.
The visitors come into this tie without the danger of relegation as they are sitting in 15th position, seven points ahead of Cagliari in the relegation zone. And so the best they can get this season is a 14th place finish.
But despite having nothing to play for, the visitors are no pushovers and will be interested in being the spoilers here. They have done it before as they come into this tie on the back of a 4-1 win over UEFA Europa League hopefuls Fiorentina.
However, Sampdoria have a poor record against top sides as they have only avoided defeat in a league-low 29.63% of games in which they started as an outsider. To make matters worse, they have lost to Inter in four consecutive encounters here, conceding 12 goals in the process, with the visitors having won only once at the San Siro (against Inter) since 1996 (D6, L15).
Possible Sampdoria starting line-up
Emil Audero; Bartosz Bereszyński, Alex Ferrari, Maya Yoshida, Tommaso Augello; Morten Thorsby, Antonio Candreva, Abdelhamid Sabiri, Tomas Rincon, Ronaldo Vieira; Fabio Quagliarella.
Injured: Stefano Sensi
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Omar Colley
Prediction
Inter Milan 2-0 Sampdoria
