Leonardo calls for focus in Inter title push
Inter Milan coach Leonardo has warned his players to ignore Saturday evening's clash between Juventus and leaders AC Milan and focus on Sunday afternoon
Inter Milan coach Leonardo has warned his players to ignore Saturday evening's clash between Juventus and leaders AC Milan and focus on Sunday afternoon's match against Genoa at the San Siro where victory could see the champions close the gap in Serie A to two points.
"The game tonight decides nothing", said the Brazilian at Saturday's pre-match press conference.
"We have a lot of hard games coming up but we are still competing for all the major prizes this season. If we remain consistent, it will give us the chance to achieve great things again".
Former Genoa defender Andrea Ranocchia has passed a fitness test but Diego Milito is still out injured. Another former Rossoblu, Thiago Motta, is expected to start in the centre of midfield in place of the sidelined Esteban Cambiasso.
Tenth-placed Genoa travel to Milan without left-back Domenico Criscito, strikers Antonio Floro Flores and Mattia Destro and midfielder Miguel Veloso through a combination of injury and suspension.
But young Uruguayans Diego Polenta and Federico Rodriguez along with midfielder Omar Milanetto have been named in Davide Ballardini's 20-man squad.
"On paper, the players available have done well on lots of occasions so I don't see Genoa coming with a weakened line-up", said Leonardo.
Appointed to succeed Rafael Benitez exactly two months ago Leonardo has overseen Inter's climb in Serie A from seventh to second.
"I'm happy with the way things have gone up to now. It was a difficult situation but everyone's been positive. We've trained in a way that increases our energy levels without exhausting them".