Venezia vs Inter: Survival Mission Meets a Side on Fire
One win in six for Venezia, eighteen goals scored by Inter in the same span — the numbers tell a brutal story
One win from six. That's the cold, unforgiving reality Venezia carry into Wednesday's Serie A matchweek 9 fixture, and it's not the kind of context that lends itself to optimism. They've conceded 13 and scored just 6 across those six matches, with only a 1-0 win over Napoli interrupting a run that also includes losses to Genoa and a 3-1 defeat to Atalanta. For anyone tracking this fixture for fantasy football purposes, or even just for a clean sheet punt in either direction, the pattern from the home side is pretty damning.
Inter, on the other hand, have been ferocious. Five wins and a draw from their last six, 18 goals scored and 9 conceded, with recent results including a 3-0 dismantling of Parma, a 3-1 win at Bologna, and a 2-1 home victory over Fiorentina. H. Çalhanoğlu has been directly involved in everything good about their midfield, contributing 2 goals from just 2 appearances, while F. Dimarco sits behind him as arguably the most creative player in the squad with 9 key passes from 2 apps. That said, Dimarco is unavailable for this one along with Lautaro Martínez, who misses out with a hamstring injury, and Luis Henrique with adductor pain. B. Pavard also sits out. That is a significant chunk of quality to lose heading into any match, let alone a trip that still looks winnable on paper.
The injury news matters most up front. Lautaro Martínez's absence means Inter have to find their goals elsewhere, and F. Esposito steps into the spotlight having already registered 1 goal and 1 assist in just 155 minutes this season, generating 4 key passes in 2 appearances. A. Diouf offers a different kind of threat from the wing-back position, picking up 2 assists in a single 75-minute appearance. For Venezia, the absences of M. Šverko and B. Franjić hurt their options in defence and midfield respectively, and with M. Moreno and P. Mazzocchi also unavailable the squad is stretched. F. Stanković in goal has made 12 saves in just 3 appearances, which tells you plenty about the kind of pressure this backline has been under. In Serie A terms, this is a goalkeeper earning his wages week in, week out.
J. Yeboah leads Venezia's creative output with 6 key passes from his 3 appearances, and A. Hainaut has the solitary goal among their midfield contributors. A. Adams up top is the other scorer with 1 goal from 272 minutes of football. These are not numbers that suggest a side capable of hurting Inter on the counter, even with the visitors missing key personnel. The match preview writes itself in some ways, but football has a habit of ignoring the script. Even so, with Inter's record, their firepower still available through Çalhanoğlu, Barella and Esposito, and Venezia's defensive record suggesting a penalty or set-piece could arrive at any moment, this has Inter written all over it. The Nerazzurri take the points on Wednesday.
