Inter Milan vs Atalanta preview - Palacio in contention for Inter

Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 by PA

Rodrigo Palacio is poised to earn his first start of the season when Inter Milan host Atalanta on Wednesday evening.

The Argentina international has only recently recovered from an ankle injury he suffered at the World Cup over the summer.

The 32-year-old striker, who was Inter's top scorer the past couple of seasons, came on as a second-half substitute in Inter's last two league games.

Inter drew 1-1 at Palermo on Sunday, with Palacio playing the final 11 minutes of the game.

"Against Palermo, my strikers were not as sharp as they were in previous games," Inter coach Walter Mazzarri said.

Inter had won 7-0 over Sassuolo in their previous Serie A game.

The Nerazzurri have won just one of their opening three games and are four points adrift of Serie A leaders Juventus and Roma.

"We don't have the continuity that I would like to have but I'm optimistic," Mazzarri said. "I want my team to acquire an Inter mentality and we are working well towards achieving that."

Atalanta travel to the San Siro having suffered their first defeat of the campaign, a 1-0 defeat to Fiorentina on Sunday.

Yet Stefano Colantuono, the Atalanta coach, remains upbeat.

"My team played a very good game," he said. "I believe if we continue to show the same intensity that we displayed against Fiorentina, I have nothing to worry about."

The Bergamo outfit will be hoping Argentinian forward German Denis can open his goal tally in Milan.

Denis, who was Atalanta's top scorer last season with 13 goals, has not found the back of the net in his team's opening three games.