Continuity is a guarantee of reliability, but the busy schedule and the focus on results has not allowed Luciano Spalletti to count on an enlarged squad in a season where the great goal is to return to the Champions League by reaching one of the top four places in Serie A. In order to build a precise team identity and to sharpen key mechanisms immediately, the Certaldo technician has decided to focus strongly on a block of players considered almost irreplaceable and that in the first 6 days were particularly ‘squeezed’.

THE UNTOUCHABLES - There are eight players for which the upcoming league break will in some cases be much appreciated, especially for midfielder Borja Valero, who in the last league games against Crotone, Bologna and Genoa has failed to assert his qualities, likely due to fatigue from a busy segment of recent commitments. He has played 6480 minutes, behind only the pair of defenders Skriniar-Miranda, Handanovic, Perisic, and D’Ambrosio (6535), Icardi (6534) and Candreva (6493) who, however, will be engaged with their respective national teams over the break and will not have the chance to get a rest before the derby on October 15th.

DIFFICULTIES - Spalletti's questions arise on the left side of the defense, where Nagatomo and Dalbert have not yet been able to put a stamp on the position. Another question is in the middle of the field where Gagliardini and Vecino will compete for a spot, and finally it’s a duel between Joao Mario and Brozovic for the role of ‘fake trequartista’. There are a few players who are pushing for more space in Spalletti’s squad, but they have a very small momentum. From Ranocchia to Karamoh and Eder, perhaps the Inter coach is even considering the possible change of form, to a more traditional 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3, to allow space for a new face.