Inter Milan Vs Udinese Prediction: Nerazzurri Aims For Second Victim In Serie A

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez (photo: x @Inter ·)

JAKARTA - Inter Milan will continue their journey in an effort to reclaim the Serie A title when they host Udinese at the San Siro on Sunday night, August 31. After appearing fierce in the inaugural match of this season, Cristian Chivu's troops are believed to have strong capital to continue the positive trend.

Inter opened the 2025/26 season with a landslide 5-0 win over Torino. In that match, Alessandro Bastoni opened the scoring before Marcus Thuram scored two goals, followed by the goal of captain Lautaro Martinez and new striker Ange-Yoan Bonny who closed the Nerazzurri goal party. The victory also made Chivu a sweet debut, who had just been appointed to replace Simone Inzaghi.

As a former pillar of the 2010 treble winners, Chivu came with a great reputation even though his coaching career had just climbed. He previously successfully saved Parma from relegation last season. Inter themselves had appeared disappointing at the Club World Cup in the United States, but a landslide victory over Torino showed their mental revival.

Victory in this inaugural match is a strong signal that Inter are seriously targeting the Scudetto this season. Moreover, they have prepared themselves for a busy schedule, including a big duel against Juventus after the international break and the Champions League match against Arsenal and Liverpool. But before that, Inter must maintain momentum by conquering Udinese.

In terms of meeting records, Inter are clearly superior. They won six consecutive times over Udinese, including three last season wins, and recorded eight consecutive home wins over Friulani. This made the Nerazzurri again favorite to win three points.

Meanwhile, Udinese came to San Siro with less convincing capital. Despite ending the pre-season with three consecutive wins and qualifying from the Coppa Italia after beating Carrarese, they only drew 1-1 against Hellas Verona in the opening match of Serie A. Thomas Kristensen had time to put Udinese ahead with a header, but the lead didn't last long.

Kosta Runjaic's team is still struggling to find consistency. They have only won one win in the last 12 Serie A matches, a record that makes the chances of stealing points at Inter's headquarters look thin.

In terms of team composition, Inter received good news with the return of Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Pio Esposito who were already free from suspension. Four new recruits, namely Luiz Henrique, Andy Diouf, Petar Sucic, and Ange Bonny, provide additional fresh energy for the Inter squad which was previously considered aging. However, Chivu will likely not make much changes, with the Lautaro-Thuram duet remaining a mainstay up front.

In the Udinese camp, the team's condition was slightly disturbed. Maduka Okeye's main goalkeeper was absent due to a two-month ban due to an illegal betting case, so Razvan Sava will be trusted again to guard the goal. Matteo Palma is also doubtful about appearing due to a muscle injury. The front line is likely to be inhabited by Kean Davis and Iker Bravo, while Adam Buksa's new signing and Alexis Sanchez, the former Inter striker, will start the match off the bench.

With the higher quality of the squad, San Siro's public support, as well as a record of supportive meetings, Inter are clearly seeded. Although it may not be as explosive as when slaughtering Torino, the Nerazzurri are predicted to still be able to secure victory relatively comfortably.

Estimated Line-up of Inter Milan (3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez.

Udinese (3-5-2): Razvan Salvador; Gianluca Bertola, Thomas Kristensen, Oumar Solet; Kingsley Ehizibue, Festy Atta, Sebastian Karlstrom, Sandi Lovric, Jordan Zemura; Iker Bravo, Kean Davis.

Score Prediction: Inter Milan 2-0 Udinese