Al Nassr-Inter is a friendly and will be played on Thursday at 12:20pm: news, stats, live TV, streaming, lineups, predictions
After the matches against Lugano and Pergolettese, Inter Milan have left for Japan, where in the first friendly match they will reunite with one of their mainstays of recent seasons, Marcelo Brozovic, who like many of his colleagues did not feel like turning down the lucrative contract offered by Al-Nassr, the ambitious Saudi Pro League club in which Cristiano Ronaldo has also played since last December.
The Croatian director’s farewell is in addition to those of Onana, Lukaku, Skriniar and Dzeko, all undisputed protagonists of last season, which saw the Nerazzurri win two trophies (Supercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia) and reach the Champions League final, lost 1-0 to Haaland and Guardiola’s Manchester City. Right now, Inter are a work in progress, with Simone Inzaghi anxious to see what the next reinforcements will be. The department most lacking is certainly the attack: after the failure of the negotiation to bring Lukaku back to Italy, Thuram alone, who arrived on a zero-parameter basis from Borussia Monchengladbach, is certainly not enough. The coach is also anxious about the goalkeeper: Onana’s replacement, finished at Manchester United, should be Sommer, but there is still no agreement with Bayern Munich for the Swiss extreme defender. Against Al-Nassr, Stankovic’s son Stankovic could be the goalkeeper, while the new signings Bisseck and Frattesi will be among the special observers, as they are likely to be starters together with Thuram, who will team up with Lautaro.
Ronaldo and his teammates have already played several friendlies in recent weeks, the last one against Psg, in which they managed to avoid defeat (0-0). The outings against Celta Vigo and Benfica, who scored a combined nine goals against the Gialloblù, are to be forgotten. Coach Luis Castro will field both CR7 and Brozovic, but Fofana and Alex Telles will remain on the bench.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The Prediction
Al-Nassr have shown some not inconsiderable defensive gaps in their first outings, but they are still a team under construction. The blank-net draw with Psg is also not credible, as Luis Enrique fielded an experimental formation. Inter will still feel the effects of the workload, as well as the long journey, but they should still get the better of the Saudis, finishing ahead in both halves of the game.
The likely line-up for Al Nassr-Inter
- AL-NASSR (4-4-2): Al-Aqidi; Al-Ghannam, Madu, Konan, Lajami; Fofana, Brozovic, Yahya, Gahreeb; Talisca, Cristiano Ronaldo.
- INTER (3-5-2): Stankovic; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Frattesi, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Thuram.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-2
