Inter aim to widen the league gap

Milan – Inter Milan have the chance to put even further distance between themselves and Serie A’s chasing pack as they travel to Lecce tomorrow after showing their quality on the European stage.

On a high after out-playing and beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday night, leaders Inter can stretch their winning streak to 10 games in all competitions in southern Italy.

Inter play after second-placed Juventus, who have fallen nine points off the pace after losing three of their last four matches, host leaky Frosinone.

Meanwhile on Wednesday Inter also play their game in hand with Atalanta as the teams who travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Italian Super Cup catch up on the rest of the league.

Lecce are 13th but have lost seven of their last nine matches and are not out of the fight against relegation, as they are only four points above 18th-placed Verona.

Atalanta meanwhile will not be a walk in the park as Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are, like Inter, unbeaten in 2024 and are fourth after winning five league matches in a row.

As such Inter coach Simone Inzaghi (above) is planning some turnover for Lecce, with Carlos Augusto and Denzel Dumfries coming in as wing-backs and Tuesday’s match-winner Marko Arnautovic starting alongside top-scorer Lautaro Martinez in place of injured Marcus Thuram.

“We know that from now on we’re going to be playing a lot of games...We’re going to need everyone,” said Inzaghi after Tuesday’s win.

“The important months are March/April when we play alot.

“It’s there where we have to try to not lose players and if we find ourselves in difficulty, take on those problems as best we can.”

Francesco Calzona will manage his first Serie A match for Napoli at Cagliari tomorrow after holding Barcelona to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday. –