Seven days after putting Avellino to the sword 3-0 in the Coppa Italia Round of 64, Monza head to San Siro for their Serie A opener against Inter on August 22. It is a tough draw to start the season, but Cristian Chivu’s side will take confidence from their own pre-season, which included wins over Juventus and Real Betis. With both clubs sitting on zero points and the table wide open, the opening weekend sets the tone for what each team wants this campaign to become.
What’s at stake
It is the first matchday of the 2026-27 Serie A season, and neither Inter nor Monza have a point to their name yet. The table, sorted alphabetically at this stage, puts Inter eighth and Monza thirteenth, but those numbers are meaningless until the games are played. What matters is that the top four in the division earn Champions League football, with spots five and six feeding into the Europa League, and a Conference League playoff place going to the sixth-place finisher. Both sides will have ambitions somewhere in that upper half of the table by May.
A win for Inter would immediately establish them as a team to watch in the top half, with the psychological edge of taking three points against a direct rival for mid-table territory. For Monza, a positive result away at one of the division’s historically dominant clubs would send an early statement, signaling that they plan to push upward rather than spend the season looking over their shoulder at the relegation places occupied last year by Torino, Udinese, and Venezia.
How they got here
Inter, under coach Cristian Chivu, went through pre-season in solid if unspectacular fashion. They beat Karlsruher SC 2-1, drew 1-1 with both Manchester City and AC Milan, then beat Juventus 2-1 before closing out their summer schedule with a narrow 1-0 win over Real Betis. Three wins, two draws, no losses across five friendlies is a respectable return, suggesting the squad is organized and competitive even if the level of opposition varied. Monza’s summer was bumpier: a 1-3 home loss to Aris Thessalonikis raised some eyebrows, and a 3-3 draw with Padova left questions. But they bounced back with wins over Galatasaray and PRO Vercelli, and that Coppa Italia hammering of Avellino last week gave the squad a timely confidence boost heading into the league campaign.
Inter enter as the higher-profile side, ranked eighth in pre-season projections, while Monza sit thirteenth. The gap between those pre-season expectations is real, but the Serie A table has a habit of humbling the unprepared on opening weekend.
Key battle to watch
The midfield contest will likely decide this match. Inter’s engine room, built around Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella, is one of the more complete in Italian football, offering both defensive coverage and forward drive. Monza will look to Andrea Colpani and Matteo Pessina to disrupt that rhythm and win the ball high enough to give Patrick Cutrone and Dany Mota something to work with. If Monza can make Inter play through traffic rather than let Calhanoglu dictate tempo from deep, they have a chance to frustrate the home side and hit on the counter. If Inter’s midfield clicks from the first whistle, the visitors could find it a long afternoon.
Key Stats
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Our Prediction
The head-to-head record favors Inter, who have beaten Monza 5-1 and 3-2 in their most recent competitive meetings at home in Serie A, and the quality gap between the squads is real. That said, Monza arrive with match sharpness from the Coppa Italia win and a pre-season that picked up late, so expect them to make this competitive for at least an hour. Inter’s midfield depth should prove decisive, and a home win would be the expected outcome, though Monza have the tools to snatch something if Inter are slow out of the blocks.