Inter Milan vs Palermo preview - Ranieri expecting tough clash

Inter Milan coach Claudio Ranieri expects a very difficult game against Palermo in their Serie A clash.

The Sicilian club have yet to prevail on the road this season yet they have won back-to-back games.

Inter, meanwhile, suddenly find themselves on a two-match losing run that started with a Coppa Italia elimination at Napoli and continued with Sunday's 1-0 defeat at lowly Lecce.

The setback against relegation-threatened Lecce snapped a seven-game winning streak in the league and also dropped the Nerazzurri to fifth place - nine points behind table-toppers Juventus.

"We are heading into this game on the back of two straight defeats while Palermo have won two consecutive games and this is where the challenge lies," Ranieri said to www.inter.it.

"They are on the way up and we will have to show a lot of courage and quality to beat them."

Palermo followed their 5-3 triumph over Genoa - which ended a six-match winless run - with a 2-0 win over Novara on Sunday.

That result lifted Bortolo Mutti's side to eighth in the standings.

"We are on the right track but we have to continue to work," Mutti said.

"Now we face a difficult game at Inter and we need to show an improvement with respect to our previous performances away from home."

Lack of goalscoring has been Palermo's main problem when playing away from La Favorita, with the Sicilians having found the net just two times in 10 games on the road.

Ranieri has included midfielder Thiago Motta in the squad for Wednesday's game, despite the Italy international being strongly linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

"Motta has not always played," Ranieri said. "But he is a unique player and I don't have a replacement with his characteristics, hence, I'm hopeful he will remain."

The visitors are still without injured striker Abel Hernandez.