Inter, Barella returns to the Coppa Italia on Tuesday. Confirmation for Dumfries, while Skriniar…

From today the head of Inter will be in the Coppa Italia. The derby against Milan is scheduled for Sunday, but in 48 hours, Tuesday evening at 21 at San Siro, the quarter-final against Atalanta is on the calendar. If qualifying for the next Champions League is the club’s priority, Inzaghi has no intention of snubbing the national cup that he raised to the sky just last May by beating Juventus at the Olimpico.

HOLDER STRETCHER

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The midfielder, absent in Cremona due to disqualification, will return to the starting lineup and his recovery will be fundamental to allow one of Calhanoglu or Mkhitaryan to catch his breath. Who of the two? Yesterday Inzaghi saved the Turkish player from the last 25 minutes (booked) by inserting Asllani in his place. The Albanian gave an excellent response to Zini, but he too did well when he entered Monday’s match against Empoli. It is probable that in the Coppa Italia he will play from 1′ and that perhaps this time the Armenian, who has been a starter in the last 13 games for the nerazzurri (last bench on 8 October in Reggio Emilia), will catch his breath. The Piacenza coach would have gladly fielded Brozovic, but the Croatian isn’t ready yet after the injury to his left calf. “He had a rather important problem – Simone said – and in these days, when he starts training on the pitch, we’ll see how things progress”. Translated, he won’t be available in the Coppa Italia and maybe he’ll be on the bench in the derby on Sunday. Perhaps…

DUMFRIES ON THE GROWTH

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The Dutchman, on the other hand, breathes an air of confirmation, back in the starting eleven in Cremona. The former PSV seemed to be on the ball: he churned out a couple of discreet crosses, created numerical superiority and was … alive. Considering that Darmian could be drafted back into defense (we’ll explain why later), Denzel serves on the right. Thinking about Bellanova from the 1st minute against Atalanta is complicated. On the opposite side, however, Gosens advances his candidacy after he replaced Dimarco in the second half, also preferred yesterday from the start. This time the blue could catch his breath in view of the derby.

SKRINIAR AND THE MARKET

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The Slovakian, disqualified allo Zini, will be available in the Italian Cup. Same next Sunday. But if the day of the derby will be… all defined since the market will already be closed, the situation in the Cup is different. The negotiations close on Tuesday at 20, while the kick-off of Inter-Atalanta is set for 21. Inzaghi has already “burned” once with Skriniar, sent on the field against Empoli after days of rumors and tensions about no renewal. It is unthinkable that he would repeat the mistake because the defender’s name has returned to being popular on the Paris-Milan axis. Already having an agreement with the centre-back for next season, sporting director Campos is evaluating whether to sign him immediately, but Inter are asking for 20 million. In Viale della Liberazione they sensed that, beyond his denials at the press conference, Galtier needs a defender. Finding a replacement to deliver to Inzaghi, however, is complicated. How will the soap opera end? Everything will be clearer soon, but at the moment everything leads us to believe that Milan won’t play from the start on Tuesday. In his place still Darmian or D’Ambrosio. There may be a turnover in the middle of the three-man line (in De Vrij, outside Acerbi) or it will be Bastoni who catches his breath, with the Dutchman and the former Lazio on the field at the same time.

CORREA OR LUKAKU

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And the attack? It is unlikely that Dzeko can be a starter both with Atalanta and in the derby. 99% of the Bosnian will rest on Tuesday and Correa is more likely to be alongside Lautaro than Lukaku. Yesterday the two played the same playing time, but Inzaghi had explained pre-match: “Romelu is missing a little something, otherwise he would have started from 1′. He wants to catch up with the others and today in the meantime he’ll lend a hand during the game” . What then happened. “To see the real Lukaku – Simone certified after the 90th minute – it will still take a while”. All that remains is to wait for the Belgian.