Inter travel to the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo on Wednesday evening for an 18:30 kick‑off against bottom‑placed Venezia in the ninth round of Serie A, carrying 22 points from their first eight matches—seven wins and a draw—matching Lazio for the best start in the division.
Coach Cristian Chivu has named a 3‑5‑2 with Ivan Provedel in goal, a back three of Yann Bisseck, Alessandro Bastoni and Carlos Augusto, and a midfield quintet of Issiaka Diouf, Petar Sucic, Aleksandar Stankovic, Piotr Zielinski and Federico Dimarco. Up front, Ange‑Yoan Bonny partners Marcus Thuram, who retains his place despite speculation he might be rested ahead of Saturday's derby against Milan. Lautaro Martinez remains sidelined.
Venezia, under Davide Nicola, sit on three points after eight outings and have scored only six goals. They line up in a mirror 3‑5‑2 with Filip Stankovic behind a defence featuring former Inter centre‑back Juan Jesus, while Joel Adams and Daniel Lauberbach lead the attack. The lagunari have lost four of their last five home games in the top flight.
The defining narrative of Inter's season so far has been the impact of Chivu's substitutes. Across the first ten competitive matches, players introduced from the bench have scored five goals and provided four assists. The Romanian dislikes the term "substitutes", preferring to view his squad as a group of starters, but the numbers speak for themselves. Ange‑Yoan Bonny leads the way with three goals, including his first in Serie A during the comeback win over Udinese.
The pattern was set early. Against Fiorentina at San Siro, trailing 1‑0 after a debut goal conceded by Provedel, Chivu brought on Bonny for Pio Esposito at the hour mark, then added Zielinski, Sucic and Dimarco in the 78th minute. The reshuffle unlocked the left flank, Carlos Augusto pushed higher, and Thuram won the penalty that Zielinski converted for the winner. In the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk, down to ten men after Bastoni's dismissal, a triple change at the 59th minute—Diouf, Zielinski and Bisseck—restructured the side; a subsequent switch to a compact shape with Henrikh Mkhitaryan allowed Carlos Augusto to net the decisive goal.
Against Bologna, another comeback: Bonny replaced Pio Esposito, Diouf added pace on the right, and Carlos Augusto scored with his first touch to make it 2‑1. Late introductions of Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu then produced the third, Calhanoglu finding the Brazilian who squared for Bonny. Each intervention has been timed after the 55th minute, a Chivu hallmark barring injury.
With the Milan derby looming on 31 October, the Venezia trip represents both a chance to extend a record—Inter have won their last four away games against newly promoted sides without conceding, 11‑0 aggregate—and a test of squad depth. Chivu's ability to rewrite matches from the touchline has turned a demanding October into a platform for a title challenge.
