Serie A Matchday 23 Preview: Palermo vs Milan

Milan will be brimming with confidence when they take on Palermo on Wednesday after a convincing win in the Derby della Madonnina over the weekend.

Chasing a return to the Champions League following years in the abyss, Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men struggled for momentum early on in the season, at one stage placed as low as 19th after losing to Fiorentina, Inter and Napoli in the first few fixtures.

And their morale-boosting 3-0 win over bitter rivals Inter saw them move to just six points behind third-placed Fiorentina and head into their midweek encounter on the back of a four-match unbeaten streak.

In addition, the Rossoneri have lost just one of their previous nine Serie A fixtures, winning four and claiming another four draws in the process.

Furthermore, the San Siro outfit have won five of their last seven matches against Palermo in the top flight and have scored a total of eight goals in their last three visits to the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

Read the rest of my preview for Football Italia

Serie A preview: Juventus the favourites again, but Milan and Roma could challenge this season

Italian football may not be what it was during its 90s pomp, with match-fixing scandals taking some of the gloss off and Serie A outfits often treated more like accessories than businesses by their owners.

However, with Juventus reaching last year's Champions League final and Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol’s injecting some cash at AC Milan, it feels like a new era is being ushered in.

No doubt the Old Lady have helped place Italy on Europe’s footballing map again. The Bianconeri, under the tutelage of Massimiliano Allegri, steamrolled their way to a fourth consecutive domestic title before claiming an unprecedented domestic double, narrowly edging out Lazio in the Coppa Italia. And while they failed to lift the Champions League crown against Barcelona in Berlin after wins over Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, they certainly have done their bit in paving the way for another exciting season.

Read the rest of my season preview for Mirror Football

Shaqiri not in tune with Inter

In many ways, Roberto Mancini seemed to have lost touch. Upon his return to the Nerrazzuri in mid-November, the 50-year-old acted as if the post-Mourinho hardships had never happened. Inter, he claimed, were still a top European club and for that they could attract the continent’s best talent was taken as read.

Inter, after all, are one of the most iconic clubs in Europe with 18 Serie A titles, three Champions League crowns and a host of other domestic and intercontinental honours. However, recent struggles meant Mancio’s optimism seemed rather unrealistic - that is until Xherdan Shaqiri joined the club.

Not since Wesley Sneijder has a player mustered so much popularity within the club. So much so that supporters gathered in their thousands and made their way to the airport to greet the new signing. For a League, and club, that had lost its appeal to the wider public, Shaqiri’s agreement to join the club on a loan deal before signing on for another five years, was quite a coup.

The 23-year-old’s first few months were indeed promising. With legends such as Oliver Bierhoff claiming that he had everything to become a fan favourite, Shaqiri got off to a perfect start by scoring on his debut, combining with fellow new recruit Lukas Podolski to eliminate Sampdoria from the Coppa Italia.

By February, Inter’s faithful came flocking back to San Siro, as their attendances almost doubled, not to mention the fact that Shaqiri was, perhaps, the Nerrazzuri’s best player throughout the month as he contributed in every facet possible, in particular setting alight the Europa League. So much so, that club legend Javier Zanetti compared the Swiss to Sneijder for his ability to spark the team to life.

Read the rest of my piece on Football Italia

Top Five Inter Youngsters 2015-16

It’s fair to say that for the past few seasons, Inter have ultimately flattered to deceive. In fact, such were the lacklustre team performances last term that not only did the Nerazzurri get dumped out of the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals, but they ultimately finished in eighth position in Serie A, and are set to miss out on European football this time around.

The re-appointment of Roberto Mancini at the expense of Walter Mazzarri has, thus far. failed to show much promise with the tactician seemingly finding it tough to successfully integrate his players into his own philosophy.

There is good news amongst all this negativity, however: Inter’s youth structure continues to produce talented starlets capable of becoming world-class players, and with president Erick Thohir insisting that the squad for the new season will be limited to just 25 players, it seems now is the time for Mancio to rely on the younger generation as they attempt to re-build.

Here, I took a look at five promising Inter youngsters for Forza Italian Football