MILAN - The Nerazzurri are in action this evening at San Siro in the last 16 of the 2015/16 Coppa Italia.
Roberto Mancini's men host Cagliari in a knockout match later (kick-off 21:00).
We bring you some essential pre-match reading, courtesy of our friends at Opta.
PAST MEETINGS
Inter
and Cagliari meet for the eighth time in the Coppa Italia. The
Nerazzurri have won four of the previous games, with the Sardinian
side's only win coming in February 2000. The remaining two finished
level.
The Nerazzurri have always gone through against Cagliari in the cup (four out of four).
Their
last four matches came at the semi-final stage in the 1999/2000 and
2004/05 seasons: the Nerazzurri lost to Lazio in the final of the former
but beat Roma in the latter to lift the trophy.
Inter and
Cagliari have met at this stage before: They drew 2-2 in Cagliari in
1996/97, before the Nerazzurri prevailed 2-1 in the replay.
Inter have twice beaten Cagliari 3-1 in the Coppa Italia. Curiously both matches featured a double from Christian Vieri.
PAST MEETINGS IN MILAN
Inter
have won three of their last four home matches against Cagliari in the
Coppa Italia, with the Rossoblu claiming the other. The four games
produced a total of 19 goals (12 for the Nerazzurri, seven for the
Sardinians) at an average of 4.75 per match.
CURRENT FORM
The
Nerazzurri have only failed to reach the quarter finals once in the
last 12 years. That came in 2013/14 when they were knocked out by
Udinese.
Inter have lost only one of their last 33 home matches in this competition (26 wins, six draws), against Roma in April 2013.
Cagliari
haven't made the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia since the 2004/05
season. That year the Sardinian team made it all the way to the semis
(where they were eliminated by Inter).
The Rossoblu have found the net in each of their last seven matches in this competition, hitting 15 goals in the process.
GENERAL STATISTICS
Inter
come into this game as league leaders. The last time the Nerazzurri led
the table with a four-point cushion came in March 2010 under Jose
Mourinho.
Cagliari, meanwhile, travel to San Siro having won only one of their last four matches in Serie B (two draws and one defeat).
Roberto Mancini's side have recorded 11 clean sheets this term, the most across Europe's five major leagues along with Angers.
The visitors have failed to find the net in four of their 18 league games in Italy's second tier.
On
only eight occasions in the past have Inter conceded nine goals or
fewer after 16 matches in Serie A, most recently in 2007/08. In five of
those seasons they went on to win the title.
The Nerazzurri have
been deadly towards the end of the 90 minutes this term. Inter have
scored seven times in the last 15 minutes of games, a league high.
Cagliari
boast Serie B's best attack with 35 goals scored but only 11 of these
have come on the road (three of which on their last away trip).
Thirteen different players have found the net for Cagliari in the league this season, a league high shared with Crotone.
Five players have already struck in three separate games this term, namely Sau, Melchiorri, Capuano, Dessena and Deiola.
PLAYER FOCUS
Diego Farias
is Cagliari's top scorer with seven goals in the second tier. Farias
has also provided six assists: only Crotone's Bruno Martella (eight) has
set up more goals.
Mauro Icardi
scored twice from a mere 19 touches against Udinese on Saturday. In
general, the Argentine finds the net on average every 47 touches. Only
Kalinic has a better record from players with at least five goals in
Serie A this season. Both Icardi and Jovetic have scored twice in their
last six meetings with Cagliari in Serie A.
Adem Ljajic
made his Serie A debut against Cagliari in January 2010. He has only
found the net once in seven league appearances against the Sardinian
side.
Marco Sau has
struck three goals in three Serie A matches against Inter, all of which
came at San Siro. That included his first brace in the Italian top
flight.
Rodrigo Palacio
has three goals from seven matches against Cagliari in Serie A,
including one for Inter at the Meazza in November 2012, his first
top-flight meeting with the Rossoblu for the Nerazzurri.
COACHES
Roberto Mancini
won the Coppa Italia a record five times as a player. Mancini has also
lifted the trophy four times as a coach - twice with Inter - an honour
he shares with Sven-Goran Eriksson. Mancini was in the dugout for the
Nerazzurri in the two-legged semi final against Cagliari in May 2005.
Inter drew 1-1 away, before winning 3-1 at home.
Massimo Rastelli has never met Inter as a coach in this competition.
SUSPENDED
Cagliari: Munari (2), Barella (1).
