Siena vs Inter Milan

Siena are home to league leaders Inter Milan in week 18 facing what seems like an impossible task. Not only are Inter in first place, but they are undefeated and currently on a 6 match win streak. Meanwhile, Siena have managed to win just 1 match from 9 at home all season.

The side managed by Mario Beretta are in 18^th place of the Serie A table with 14 points for the season. They are 1 point back of 17^th Empoli, and 1 ahead of 19^th place Reggina. They have managed to win just 2 matches all season long. If the season were to end today they would be on their way towards Serie B. They are in the middle of a terrible run in their fixture list which now sees them host Inter after having lost to Juventus in their last match by a score of 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino. They rank near the bottom of the league in both goals scored, 17, and goals conceded, 25. On the injury front, Grimi, Chiesa and De Lazzari are out injured this week and Beretta will go with a 4-3-1-2 featuring Maccarone and Frick upfront.

Inter are nothing short of a power house in Italian football these days. Manager Roberto Mancini has guided them to an undefeated record so far through 17 rounds and they have won their last 6 straight by outscoring the competition by 15-2 over that span. Their 43 points for the year give them a 7 point edge on 2^nd place Roma. Their depth is without rival in the Serie A in terms of talent. The best example of this is their injured list- Patrick Vieira, Francesco Toldo, Luis Figo, Dacourt, Walter Samuel and David Suazo are all out. Despite these absences they have not missed a beat of late. In attack Ibrahimovic and Julio Cruz provide them with a pair of strikers to rival any in football these days in terms of production.

This is as uncomplicated a choice as possible. Siena would have to pull off the upset of the season this week to take the three points. Look for Inter to make it 7 wins in a row.

Prediction: Inter (1-2)