San Siro Stadium forms the backdrop for Monday evening’s mouth-watering Serie A contest as Inter Milan host Fiorentina four days after their remarkable defeat at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence.
La Viola inflicted only a second league defeat of the season on Inter the last time these two sides faced off in a game that was initially halted by traumatic circumstances.
Given the outcome of the previous encounter, Simeone Inzaghi and his troops will be keen to avoid back-to-back humiliations at the hands of Fiorentina.
Now trailing Napoli by three points at the Serie A summit, Inter must find a way to dispatch Fiorentina at the second time of asking to keep pace with Antonio Conte’s side, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown.
Fans can buy Inter Milan tickets from Seatsnet.com to book a seat in the stands as the Nerazzurri bid to relaunch their title defence with a statement win on home turf.
Match Preview
Thursday night’s highly anticipated Serie A fixture between Fiorentina and Inter carried added significance beyond the usual league stakes.
Originally abandoned in December after Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch, the match resumed from the 17th minute following his remarkable recovery.
While Bove can no longer play in Serie A due to an implanted ICD pacemaker, his health remains the most important victory.
With Inter aiming to leapfrog Napoli at the top of the table, Inzaghi’s side arrived in Tuscany brimming with confidence.
The Nerazzurri had punched their ticket to the Champions League’s last 16 with a comprehensive 3-0 win over AS Monaco and snatched a dramatic draw in the Derby della Madonnina, thanks to Stefan de Vrij’s late equaliser against AC Milan.
However, they were stopped in their tracks spectacularly as Fiorentina stepped on the gas at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
After a cagey first half, Fiorentina found their rhythm and struck three times in the second half, handing Inter their first league defeat on the road this season.
It was a clinical display from La Viola, who capitalised on their chances to stun the title contenders.
The defeat plunged Inter into uncharted territory, considering they haven’t suffered consecutive league defeats since April 2023.
With an absorbing Scudetto race heating up, Inzaghi’s squad will be eager to bounce back quickly and keep the pressure on Napoli.
However, it would be silly to write off Fiorentina’s chances of repeating their previous success in San Siro.
If they somehow pull off another victory on Monday night, La Viola will complete a league double over the Nerazzurri for the first time since 2016, when they went on to finish fifth in the standings.
Powered by a brace from Moise Kean and a composed strike from captain Luca Ranieri, Fiorentina followed up their gritty away win at Lazio in style.
That victory in Rome was particularly impressive, as they held firm with ten men for much of the second half.
After a rocky start to 2025, Raffaele Palladino’s side now have 42 points on the board – their highest tally at this stage of any campaign in nearly a decade.
Depending on Italian teams’ results in UEFA competitions – including their own progress in the Conference League – a top-five spot could be enough to secure Fiorentina’s long-awaited return to Europe’s premier tournament.
However, the fight for those coveted spots is poised to heat up in the coming weeks, with at least six clubs battling behind Serie A’s current top two.
Monday’s showdown at the San Siro is a huge test of Fiorentina’s European ambitions.
Not many teams manage to beat Inter on their own turf, but Fiorentina’s recent form suggests they have the confidence and quality to pull off another upset.
Key Stats
Inter and Fiorentina are set to renew their rivalry in what promises to be an intense showdown.
The Nerazzurri have won 80 of their 189 meetings with Fiorentina, who have managed just 51 victories (D57).
La Viola’s win in Florence snapped a three-match losing streak against Inter, and they will be looking to achieve a historic feat by winning back-to-back games against the Nerazzurri.
Not many teams can boast of coming away from San Siro with a win against Inter.
So far, only their next-door neighbours, AC Milan, have triumphed over Inzaghi’s side on their shared turf, but Fiorentina will fancy their chances of adding to Inter’s woes.
Before the feat in Florence, their last win against Inter came at the San Siro back in April 2023, with Giacomo Bonaventura’s 53rd-minute strike handing La Viola a narrow 1-0 win.
One thing is almost certain – the coming showdown is unlikely to end in a draw, considering the last six meetings between these two sides have produced a winner.
Both teams head into the eagerly anticipated contest in solid form.
Inter will be keen to get back to winning ways after seeing their seven-match unbeaten streak grind to a halt, while Fiorentina will have their eyes on four wins in a row.
The win against Inter saw them win three games on the bounce for the first time since November last year, following a worrying seven-match winless streak.
Team News
Lega Serie rules forbade neither side from fielding new signings on Thursday, as the game was supposed to be completed in December.
That ruled out Nicola Zalewski for Inter but he could now make his debut with Denzel Dumfries drops out of the line-up through suspension.
Although there’s a decent chance Inzaghi could opt to field the more experienced Matteo Darmian at right wing-back instead.
Despite the heavy defeat, the switch at right wing-back could be Inzaghi’s only change but Fiorentina have more options on the cards.
They can call on recent arrivals Michael Folorunsho, Cher Ndour, Nicolo Fagioli and Nicolo Zaniolo, the latter of whom once played in Inter’s primavera.
However, fellow new boy Pablo Mari is struggling with an injury and promising defender Pietro Comuzzo must serve a one-match ban, while Albert Gudmundsson has been laid low by tonsillitis.
Inter Milan potential starting line-up:
(3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Stefan De Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Matteo Darmian, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram.
Fiorentina potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): David De Gea; Dodo, Marin Pongracic, Luca Ranieri, Robin Gosens; Yacine Adli, Rolando Mandragora; Andrea Colpani, Lucas Beltran, Michael Folorunsho; Moise Kean.
