Inter turn to Esposito and Thuram as Lautaro's absence tests San Siro attack
With Lautaro Martinez sidelined, Cristian Chivu pairs Pio Esposito and Marcus Thuram up front as third-placed Inter host a Como side chasing a fourth straight Serie A win and a route into the top three.
Cristian Chivu has had to rebuild his attacking spearhead for Inter's meeting with Como at San Siro, with captain and leading scorer Lautaro Martinez out injured alongside Luis Henrique, according to Football Italia. Pio Esposito partners Marcus Thuram in a 3-5-2 shape that otherwise looks settled, with Alessandro Bastoni returning from suspension to restore the back three alongside Yann Bisseck's absence from the reported XI and Carlos Augusto.
The knock-on effect is structural as much as personal. Lautaro's movement off the last defender is central to how Inter stretch opponents vertically, and his absence puts more weight on Thuram to combine centrally while Esposito looks to make the runs in behind that the Argentine usually occupies. Curtis Jones and John Stones, both available again, start on the bench rather than forcing an immediate reshuffle.
Esposito's chance to lead the line
Esposito's recall alongside Thuram is as much about profile as form. Where Lautaro drops short to link play and drags centre-backs out of position, Esposito's threat is more direct running in behind, which changes the timing of Inter's five-man midfield in possession. Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Piotr Zielinski and the wing-backs, Tomas Palacios Spence and Federico Dimarco, will need to find the front two with different passing angles than when Lautaro starts.
That midfield five was central to Inter's 3-0 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League in midweek, and Zielinski in particular arrives with confidence after scoring in Rotterdam. But Serie A form has been less convincing: Inter had won four straight league games before being beaten 3-1 by Milan in the derby last weekend, a defeat that leaves them needing a response at home.
Como's double pivot aims to stifle Inter's five-man midfield
Cesc Fabregas sends out an unchanged-looking spine built around a double pivot of Lucas Ricci and Alex Milla screening in front of the back four of Alberto Couto, Ramon, Jeremy Kempf and Marco Valle. That pivot's job is to deny central access to Inter's midfield three ahead of them, a tall order against a five-man unit that outnumbers it by design in a 3-5-2.
Ahead of them, Nico Paz operates as the link between midfield and attack, flanked by Martin Baturina, recalled to the starting line-up after coming off the bench in Como's 9-1 win over Lens in the Champions League, and Lucas Da Cunha. Tasos Douvikas leads the line as the furthest forward point, with Robert Sanchez preferred to Jean Butez in goal.
Como's absentee list is longer than Inter's, missing Moise Kean, Jesus Rodriguez, Assane Diao, Jayden Addai and Trevoh Chalobah, according to Football Italia. Losing Kean in particular removes an alternative central option, leaving Douvikas as the sole focal point and increasing the burden on Paz to generate chances through the half-spaces rather than via a second striker.
Form and table stakes collide at San Siro
The context sharpens the tactical questions. Inter went into the match third in Serie A, with Como fifth, and Football Italia notes that a Como win would lift Fabregas's side above Inter into third place, while an Inter victory would move them to within a point of the league lead. Como arrive on a four-match winning run in Serie A, having beaten Venezia last time out, and their 9-1 demolition of Lens in Europe, the largest away win in Champions League history, underlines the attacking form Fabregas's team are carrying into Milan.
For Inter, the derby defeat to Milan is the more pressing concern than any European form. A back three that conceded three against their city rivals now has Bastoni restored, which should help organise the defensive shape against a Como front line built on quick combinations between Paz, Baturina and Da Cunha rather than direct running in behind.
The tactical tension is clear: Inter's wing-backs, Spence and Dimarco, will be asked to provide width and overloads against Como's own full-backs, Couto and Valle, while Como's double pivot tries to compress the space in front of the back three that Barella, Calhanoglu and Zielinski would otherwise exploit. Whichever side wins that midfield battle is likely to decide whether Inter close the gap at the top or Como complete their rise into the top three.