Ranieri: Goal-shy Inter must start scoring
Reuters - Friday 09 December 2011, 13:49
Brief news ahead of this
weekend's Serie A matches.
Inter Milan coach Claudio Ranieri has called for more
goals from his team ahead of Saturday's clash with Fiorentina at
the San Siro.
Struggling Inter, 15th in the standings, slumped to a 2-1
home defeat to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday,
following on from a weekend home loss against Udinese.
"The trouble is we're not scoring enough goals," the Italian
told reporters on Friday. "I can't criticise the squad for
anything else. With the help of the fans, our strikers can break
their bad patch."
Despite returning to training, Dutch creative midfielder
Wesley Sneijder will not be risked, with Ranieri set to decide
whether to select the misfiring Diego Milito alongside Giampaolo
Pazzini up front.
Mid-table Fiorentina will be missing Italy midfielder
Riccardo Montolivo for Saturday's trip to Inter Milan
after he pulled up with a thigh strain in training on Thursday.
"Tests showed evidence of a muscle strain," read a statement
on the club's website. "The prognosis for a
return to sporting activity is 7-10 days."
Montolivo, who handed in a transfer request at the start of
the season, was instrumental in the Viola's 3-0 win over Roma
last Sunday, coach Delio Rossi's first win in charge.
Leaders Juventus will be without striker Mirko Vucinic for
around three weeks after tests revealed the Montenegrin had
strained a muscle in Sunday's 2-0 win over Cesena.
The striker misses Monday's clash against his former side Roma at
the Stadio Olimpico.
Eighth-placed Roma face a selection headache. Along with suspended Brazilian defender Juan, Argentine
midfielder Fernando Gago and Spanish forward Bojan Krkic - all
sent off in the 3-0 reversal at Fiorentina last Sunday.
Roma
are also without injured centre-backs Nicolas Burdisso and Simon
Kjaer.
Better news for under-fire coach Luis Enrique is the return
of talismanic skipper Francesco Totti, who is expected to start
behind Argentina-born strikers Erik Lamela and Pablo Osvaldo,
returning after a one-match club ban imposed for a dressing-room
fight with Lamela.
"I'm doing fine," Osvaldo told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I'm
playing for Roma, so it can't be better."
Second-placed AC Milan expect to welcome back influential
midfielder Mark van Bommel for Sunday's trip to struggling
Bologna.
The Dutchman, who sat out the 2-2 draw against Viktoria
Plzen in the final group match of the Champions League, should
recover from a knock sustained in Genoa last Friday when the
champions continued their impressive form with a seventh win in
eight matches.
Lazio striker Miroslav Klose is expected to recover from
an ankle injury for Saturday's trip to bottom side Lecce.
The German striker, who has hit six Serie A goals since his
transfer from Bayern Munich, is likely to partner Tommaso
Rocchi, who hit a brace in Monday's 3-0 win over Novara, in
preference to French striker Djibril Cisse. Lazio are fourth,
four points behind leaders Juve.