Pio Esposito replaces Lautaro in Inter’s attack against Bologna

Pio Esposito starts alongside Marcus Thuram as Inter visit Bologna, with Lautaro Martínez left out of Cristian Chivu’s starting XI. It is the headline change for the Serie A leaders, who name a different front pairing for Saturday’s match.

Francesco Pio Esposito comes in for Martínez, while Ange-Yoan Bonny is among the options on the bench. Inter line up in a 3-5-2, with Josep Martínez in goal and Yann Bisseck, Manuel Akanji and Alessandro Bastoni across the back three.

There are changes elsewhere, too. Federico Dimarco starts at left wing-back ahead of Carlos Augusto, while Piotr Zieliński takes the central midfield role with Hakan Çalhanoğlu out of the XI. Nicolò Barella and Petar Sučić join Zieliński in midfield, with Sučić selected ahead of Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Luis Henrique gets the right-wing-back spot ahead of Denzel Dumfries.

Bologna name a 3-4-3, with Federico Bernardeschi, Roberto Piccoli and Nicolò Cambiaghi leading the attack. Emil Holm and Riccardo Orsolini are out with thigh injuries. The Bologna XI also includes Łukasz Skorupski in goal, with Matteo Darmian, Casale and Theate in defence; Zortea, Ferguson, Pobega and Miranda make up the midfield four.

Inter arrive top of the table with 16 points from six games. Bologna are 14th on five points, making the away side’s lineup change the key selection story as they look to maintain their position at the summit. The teams meet at Bologna’s Dall’Ara on Saturday, 17 October, with kick-off set for 18:00 CEST.