Wesley Sneijder ruled out as Inter Milan host Fiorentina in Serie A clash
On the easy list since early last month, Wesley Sneijder is set to miss Inter Milan’s Serie A clash this evening with Fiorentina, a big blow for club coach Claudio Ranieri who has called on his charges to ‘be more positive’. And more positive they need to be: the deposed Italian champions are languishing towards the foot of the table going into this game, lying in sixteenth place.
Ranieri will know that he is on borrowed time. The Nerazzurri hierarchy have limited patience and while the Italian giants qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League fairly cosily in the end, there are no signs of the Beneamata regaining supremacy in the Scudetto this season, having been thwarted in their bid to win the league for the sixth consecutive season by city rivals AC last term.
This will doubtless be disconcerting to their talisman Sneijder who could easily end up leaving the club when the January transfer window opens if there are no signs of a revival in Inter’s fortunes. However, as for this match, Ranieri’s men really ought to collect all three points against a side that do not travel well at all – Fiorentina have scored just one goal in six games on the road so far this term, unsurprisingly, therefore, failing to win any of the games in question.
The visitors are currently tenth in the table, and a victory for Inter, who have a game in hand, would propel them above the Viola, into a more respectable mid-table position. If this game was in Firenze, I’d be backing the draw, but at the San Siro the Nerazzurri can claim all three points, and the recommendation for punters is backing Inter Milan/Inter Milan in the half time/full time market at a standout 3.20 with William Hill.