Carpi v Inter: Mancini demands full focus

Roberto Mancini has made it clear Inter must take nothing for granted when they face Carpi on Sunday.

Inter edged out Atalanta 1-0 in their first Serie A fixture of the season at San Siro last week, Stevan Jovetic snatching a late winner.

Carpi, in contrast, suffered a chastening introduction to the top flight as they went down 5-2 to Sampdoria, who scored all of their goals in the first half.

Nevertheless, Mancini has demanded complete concentration from his players when Inter face the newly promoted team.

“It’s going to be a tough match and we all know it,” said Mancini of the first league meeting between the two sides.

“Nobody believes the opposition will just sit there and roll over. If we want to win, we have to play well, work hard and show a lot of desire like we did against Atalanta.

“It’s Carpi’s first home game, so it will be completely different to their match against Sampdoria.”

Mauro Icardi suffered a thigh strain in Inter’s win over Atalanta, meaning Jovetic – who came on as his replacement – could start in attack alongside Rodrigo Palacio.

Playmaker Marcelo Brozovic may also miss out after suffering an ankle injury, but Mancini does not believe a change in formation will be necessary.

“A team like Inter needs to have different options in attack,” he added.

“Our 4-3-3 system should be flexible enough to switch to a diamond or to play with wingers, depending who has the ball and where we are on the field – nothing should change.”

Carpi midfielder Luca Marrone is hoping the squad can learn from the mistakes they made against Sampdoria.

When Fernando put Samp 5-0 up inside 37 minutes last weekend, a truly embarrassing result appeared to be on the cards, but Carpi regained a degree of respectability thereafter – replying through Andrea Lazzari and Ryder Matos.

“We spoke and we analysed the mistakes that we have made,” said Juventus loanee Marrone.

“We are happy to play against a great team like Inter. We want to show our quality and our grit and determination.

“I have great confidence in our team – we have a united group and I think we can do well and come away satisfied.”