Serie A top two tussle as leaders Inter Milan face Fiorentina

Inter Milan have an excellent opportunity to stretch an already substantial Serie A lead, as they face second spot Fiorentina in a superb Sunday scuffle. On the other hand, Viola visit the San Siro with the opportunity to leapfrog their hosts into first place.

It is the Nerazzurri that are 17/20 odds-on favourites with Coral to come out tops from this clash, of course, as Roberto Mancini’s men have taken the full three points from all five of their outings thus far.

Inter already proved their big-game nous by beating bitter city rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, so will be confident of retaining their unbeaten record.

As four of the Milanese side’s five fixtures have finished 1-0 to Inter, odds of 11/2 for the hosts to win by that margin are enticing, especially since their Florence foes have triumphed only once away to the Nerazzurri since 2000.

Manager Mancini has been lauded for his work, after returning last term and surviving a problematic patch, and will undoubtedly be keen to keep things tight. With that, and the fact his team have conceded one goal in five games, to consider, the home side seem best to back at 19/10 to win to nil rather than for goals galore.

The black and blue half of Milan are also 12/5 to end on even terms with Fiorentina, who have remained fierce under new coach Paulo Sousa’s stewardship. A loss to Torino and a Europa League defeat by Basel are the only two blemishes on Viola’s copybook this campaign, so a 10/3 price for victory is certainly possible.

When Inter were sub-par last season, the Tuscan team took advantage by doing the double against their illustrious opposition. With talented attackers such as Khouma Babacar, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Giuseppe Rossi on their roster, at respective 13/5, 3/1 and 23/10 prices to net anytime, Fiorentina can certainly threaten again.

The hosts also have their fair share of top-notch hitmen, however, and marksmen Mauro Icardi (4/1 to fire home first) and former Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic (5/1 to have the final say) are potentially more profitable punts to poach the points for Inter. The latter has been lethal since joining the Milan giants on loan from Manchester City, and is also 9/5 to notch against his ex-club.

Betting tip: Jovetic is a fantastic 5/1 price to dramatically strike the final blow against Fiorentina