'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Not since 2010 has this feeling been around Inter Milan. The arrival of Antonio Conte has instilled in everyone within the club and some outside it, the belief that they will challenge for the Scudetto this season.
The Italian boss comes with a reputation of success, especially in Italy. After guiding Bari and Siena to successful promotion campaigns, a seventh-placed Juventus came calling, and Conte led them to three successive titles, featuring an unbeaten season in his first year. He would leave the Italian giants to become coach of the Italian national team, taking a widely regarded "below par" Italian team to Euro 2016 and reaching the quarter-finals. That summer he would take charge of a Chelsea recovering from a tenth-placed finish to win the Premier League title.
The pedigree is there, he's probably the best-suited man to take this once glorious Inter team and restore them to their former heights. Pre-season is more or less finished for Conte's team and they're set to preparing for opening day against Lecce a little more than a week away.
The friendlies in pre-season have seen Conte's effect on the team already. Although the addition of Romelu Lukaku may mean a slightly different setup, Conte's sides have been playing a 3-5-2 similar to his system at Juventus, the Italian National Team, and later at Chelsea.
It's a compact shape that becomes five at the back with a line of four defending in front of it while sitting back. In attack, the full-backs bomb on while a midfielder sits deeper to deal with any counters.
Goalkeeper
With not much competition in this area, Samir Handanovic is the sole choice for this spot. Conte won't move this around too much either since he likes stability at the back and starting from Handanovic, moving up through the team, we'll find few changes through the season.
Defenders
Most of Conte's 3-man defences have at least one player who's adept on the ball, if not all three. This one player could feature anywhere in the backline but usually plays in between his two other centre-halves. Leonardo Bonucci did so for Juventus and Italy, David Luiz filled that role at Chelsea, and so far it, seems like Stefan de Vrij will be the one to do so at Inter.
Milan Skriniar and D'Ambrosio will be his most likely partners in defence. They're both not shy bringing the ball out from defence either and it may come down to who gets the most opportunities.
Diego Godin, who has just arrived on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid, could become a prominent fixture in this defence once he returns from injury as well. Andrea Ranocchia makes for a good deputy, but Conte's not one to chop and change just for the sake of it. Manchester United's Matteo Darmian has been linked with a move to Inter, which could see him play as a third centre-back instead of D'Ambrosio as well.
Both D'Ambrosio and Darmian would be able to fill in at right wing-back if Conte needs their services there, however, the regular starter would be a more attack-minded player with defensive responsibilities.
Midfielders
Will this team realistically play with five midfielders? Yes and no. The wide players are likely to be more attacking options in Dalbert and Antonio Candreva. If you're seeing echoes of Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses, you're not far off. Conte will expect his side to defend staunchly, but in attack, a lot of the breaks will go through the wing-backs.
Barring any further signings, it seems fairly certain that this duo will be regular starters on the wings, although, Asamoah and Lazaro will certainly be in the running. We've seen Conte also experiment with Politano playing in this role, but his defensive contributions haven't been reliably good so far.
In the middle, Sensi and Marcelo Brozovic seem like nailed down starters, but the third spot could be a toss-up between Nicola Barella and Gagliardini. Barella is perhaps the more balanced option who provides plenty going forward and in defence and will be expected to start.
Conte has plenty of options in midfield though with Matias Vecino and Borja Valero also vying for places in midfield, not to forget Joao Mario as well.
Forwards
Conte's strike partnerships tend to feature a big striker in the mould of a target-man, alongside a more mobile, roaming forward playing behind him, but running past him on many occasions.
Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente with Juventus, Graziano Pelle and Eder with Italy, and when Chelsea played in a 3-5-2, it was Diego Costa and Eden Hazard. In all cases, both strikers tended to score loads of goals.
For Inter Milan, it is likely to be Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. Although you wouldn't classify Lukaku as a target-man, he has done well in teams where he forms good partnerships with midfield players, as he did with Belgium, Everton, and for a short period at Manchester United.
Conte will hope that the likes of Sensi, Barella, and Martinez will also rack up their goal tallies in his system while being able to link up with Lukaku. Considering that the Belgian has been a long-sought player for Conte, he must have a plan in place with the former Everton man at the heart of it.
