Inter Milan make the trip to SPAL on Thursday evening with the opportunity to strengthen their hold of second place in the Serie A standings.

Meanwhile, beginning the week 11 points adrift of safety, SPAL know that only wins will do if they are to stand any chance of remaining in Italy's top flight.

Match preview

Having watched Juventus, Lazio and Atalanta BC all drop points over the weekend, Inter were aware that had been given an opportunity to make headway in their efforts to finish in the top two come the end of the season.

While they trailed Torino at the break on Monday night, Antonio Conte's half-time comments worked a treat as his side netted three times in the space of 13 minutes to end their two-game winless streak.

With six matches remaining, I Nerazzurri trail Juve by eight points, realistically leaving them to focus on fending off the teams directly below them for the time being.

Nevertheless, at a time when Inter have recorded just four wins from their last nine in all competitions, Conte will be demanding a strong finish to the campaign after losing ground on Juve since the turn of the year.

Conte will also now hope that he can rely on Alexis Sanchez, who has turned his season around with one goal and five assists since the resumption.

From SPAL's perspective, there will be a certain level of acceptance that they will almost certainly be playing at the second tier in the coming months after collecting just 19 points from 32 matches.

Five defeats have been recorded from six matches since the resumption, with the 2-2 draw against AC Milan a result of conceding twice in the final 11 minutes.

Since that disappointment, they have conceded eight times in three games without finding the back of the net, leaving Luigi Di Biagio at odds over how to get a response from his players.

In reality, the SPAL head coach will already be thinking about next season, but there will also be a desire to get the better of a team who he represented for four years during his playing career.

SPAL Serie A form: LLDLLL

Inter Milan Serie A form: DWWLDW

Team News

With no risks likely to be taken on Romelu Lukaku, Sanchez should retain his place in the Inter attack alongside Lautaro Martinez.

Christian Eriksen is expected to shake off a minor fitness issue to replace Borja Valero, while Milan Skriniar is in line to come in for the suspended Diego Godin.

Antonio Candreva and Cristiano Biraghi are in contention to return in the wing-back positions.

As far as SPAL are concerned, Marco D'Alessandro is pushing for a recall on the right-hand side of midfield.

Alberto Cerri may partner Andrea Petagna, coming in as a replacement for Sergio Floccari.

SPAL possible starting lineup:
Letica; Cionek, Vicari, Bonifazi, Reca; D'Alessandro, Valdifiori, Dabo, Strefezza; Cerri, Petagna

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Candreva, Galgiadini, Brozovic, Biraghi; Eriksen; Sanchez, Martinez

We say: SPAL 0-3 Inter Milan

While Inter may make changes for this clash, everything still points to this contest being one-way traffic. Although the title remains an unlikely target, Conte will have told his players that they are fighting for their places next season, something which should inspire a professional performance.