Confirmed lineups for Inter v Cagliari

Inter are eager to get back to winning ways in Serie A after their confidence-boosting victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday. The 'Nerazzurri' threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Parma last weekend, but avoided losing out on their 3-point lead over Napoli, who were also held at Bologna.

Maximum points against Cagliari this evening would give the league leaders a 6-point gap over Antonio Conte's side, who host Empoli on Monday night at the Diego Armando Maradona. Despite having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six outings in the Italian top flight, Inter will be aiming to replicate their dominant display from the 3-0 win in December’s reverse fixture at the Unipol Domus.

On the other hand, Cagliari head into their visit to Milan off the back of a goalless stalemate against Empoli, as they continue in their bid to avoid relegation with seven games remaining until the end of the season. The Sardinia side are 15th in Serie A, holding a 6-point cushion over the relegation zone, but will be feeling their chances to hold off the 'Biscione' after securing back-to-back clean sheets.

In terms of team news, Federico Dimarco returns to the squad after being left on the bench against Bayern Munich midweek. Head coach Simone Inzaghi continues to count the absences of Denzel Dumfries and Piotr Zielinski, ruled out due to injuries, while Iranian center-forward Mehdi Taremi should also be back in the mix.

As for the visitors, Davide Nicola’s men will be at full strength for their trip to the San Siro. Club top goalscorer this term, Roberto Piccoli, will be hoping to add to his 7-goal tally with Nicolas Viola and Zito Luvumbo operating behind him, as the Italian manager deploys a 3-5-1-1 formation to try and trouble their rivals.

Inter's starting XI (3-5-2): Sommer (GK); Bisseck, De Vrij, Carlos Augusto; Zalewski, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Barella, Dimarco; Arnautovic, Lautaro.

Cagliari's starting XI (3-5-1-1): Caprile (GK); Zappa, Mina, Palomino; Zortea, Adopo, Makoumbou, Deiola, Augello; Coman; Piccoli.