Inter Milan coach Luciano Spalletti is happy to count on Andrea Ranocchia this season.

Inter meet Chievo Verona on Sunday.

Spalleti said, “Andrea Ranocchia should be quite comfortable against a side like Chievo, as he's strong in the air and they put in a lot of crosses. The crowd at San Siro know he loves Inter and has the club colours inside of him. He knows what he's doing and will help Inter for the rest of the season.

“Chievo have this way of taking everything they deserve from a match. They have a very precise way of playing and we must do well to get around their packed midfield down the wings, but when we do lose possession, they can hurt us through the centre.

“Possession is not necessarily a guarantee of results. They don't care if we keep the ball for 70 per cent of the time. Chievo play with four defenders, a midfield diamond and two strikers who divide up the penalty area. They know perfectly well when to press high and when to sit back in their own half. They very rarely get stretched out.

“In order to break them down, we must move the ball quickly and think even quicker, seeing the passes in our minds, otherwise it becomes difficult to get out of that diamond."