Inter Prepare To Face Pisa After Arsenal Setback In Serie A

Add as a preferred source on Google

Inter turn attention back to Serie A with Friday's home game against Pisa, aiming to respond after a 3-1 Champions League loss to Arsenal at San Siro, while also trying to protect a three-point lead over Napoli in the Scudetto race.

The defeat by Mikel Arteta's side leaves Inter under pressure in Europe, needing an away victory over Borussia Dortmund next week and help from other results to finish in the top eight and advance directly to the last 16, even as domestic form keeps Cristian Chivu's team ahead in Italy.

Inter had briefly drawn level against Arsenal when Petar Sucic struck from distance in the first half, but the Premier League club then controlled the contest and exposed technical and physical gaps that Chivu accepts Inter still need to close before competing regularly with England's leading teams.

Despite the setback, Marcus Thuram stresses that Inter cannot dwell on the European disappointment, especially with Napoli playing after them this weekend and giving Chivu's side the chance to increase their advantage, at least for a few hours, at the top of Serie A.

Thuram explains that the squad are treating the Pisa match as their only priority for now, while already viewing the Dortmund trip as decisive in the Champions League. Thuram says: "For now, we're focusing on Friday, and then Dortmund will be like a final. When you play for Inter, the least you can do is try to go as far as possible in every competition."

Reflecting on the gulf shown by Arsenal at San Siro, Chivu believes Inter must raise their technical tempo and decision-making if they want to stand alongside the best from the Premier League, though Chivu insists the club will not focus on financial comparisons with English opponents.

Chivu said: "The level of technique they showed impressed me compared to other teamsthe decision is always the right one, and they have the speed to find a team-mate making a run with a single touch. We stayed in the game, and when we won some duels, we created chances. But it down to Arsenal's individual and collective quality. I won't talk about how much they've spent. Otherwise I'd sound banal, and I'm not complaining. The Premier League is a top league in terms of intensity; we're not yet used to this type of match. I try to pass on a bit more in terms of certain plays to execute on the pitch. But it's not easy. We're trying to continue our growth step by step. It's important to maintain the belief that what were doing is the right thing."

Lautaro Martinez again leads Inter in Serie A and scored the decisive goal in the 1-0 victory over Udinese in their previous league outing, taking Martinez to 11 goals and four assists this season, with involvement in 15 league goals for a seventh straight Serie A campaign.

Martinez sits in elite company across Europe's top five leagues, as only four players have contributed at least 15 goals in each of the last seven seasons in those competitions, with Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland joining the Argentina forward in that consistent attacking bracket.

Pisa's creative threat often comes from Mehdi Leris, who has already supplied three assists in Serie A this campaign, just one fewer than the total Leris produced across five previous seasons in the competition between 2017-18 and 2022-23, underlining a clear improvement in final-third productivity.

Inter vs Pisa Serie A prediction

Inter approach the Pisa fixture with strong league numbers, having earned at least 49 points from their opening 21 Serie A matches for the fourth time in five seasons, after totals of 50 in 2021-22, 54 in 2023-24 and 50 in 2024-25, matching all earlier tallies from the first 27 three-points-for-a-win campaigns.

Chivu's players have already recorded 16 wins from those 21 league games, and history suggests that such a start usually leads to the title, as Inter went on to win the Scudetto on each of the previous five occasions they passed 15 victories by this stage, most recently in the 2023-24 season.

Pisa come into the contest after a 1-1 draw with Atalanta in their last Serie A match, when Rafiu Durosinmi scored only their second home goal of the season and their ninth in total, a modest attacking return that contrasts sharply with Inter's 11 clean sheets, the highest figure in the division.

Those defensive numbers help explain the forecast from Opta's model, which gives Inter a clear edge over Pisa and suggests Chivu's side should control proceedings at San Siro, although the coach is still likely to demand intensity, with the Dortmund trip and Champions League ambitions close behind.

Inter therefore enter Friday's match as strong favourites based on form, historical trends and data, yet the squad still carry the memory of Arsenal's superiority, which Chivu and Thuram both use as motivation as Inter aim to secure another league victory before turning fully towards Borussia Dortmund.