Antonio Conte has told his players to do their talking on the pitch by holding off Milan and winning a first Scudetto in 11 years.
Inter edged out Torino 2-1 late on in their most recent match and boast a six-point lead on Milan with a game in hand on their closest challengers.
That made it eight Serie A victories in a row for the Nerazzurri and they will be looking to make it nine on the spin for the first time since 2017 when they travel to Bologna.
Milan boss Stefano Pioli and midfielder Ismael Bennacer have both warned Inter that the title race is not yet over, but Conte does not want to engage in mind games.
Asked at his pre-match news conference on Friday what mistakes have to be avoided, Conte said: "Speaking inappropriately. We need to shut up and pedal.
"The best advice I can give the players is to pick up from where we left off, even if it is never easy after returning from international breaks. There aren't many more games to go."
Inter have twice finished as runners-up since last winning the Scudetto in 2009-10, including last season in Conte's first at the San Siro helm.
Conte won three Serie A titles during his time as Juventus boss and wants his squad to embrace the pressure that comes with leading the way late in the season.
"Inter is a team that, throughout the course of its history, is used to always managing pressure in the right way," he said.
"Many of them are in this situation for the first time, but we can only think about ourselves and do our best until the season finishes."
Inter's sole focus is on Serie A over the remainder of the season, with the trip to Stadio Renato Dall'Ara the first of 11 remaining fixtures.
Bologna have won their last two league matches to move up to 11th and are seeking three wins in succession for the first time since February 2020.
The Rossoblu have lost 11 and drawn three of their last 14 home league meetings with Inter, but Conte is anticipating a difficult match against Sinisa Mihajlovic's side.
"It's always important to start well when you return to action, but we have to pay a lot of attention against an excellent Bologna side," Conte added.
"They are led by a very good coach who likes attacking football. We need to prepare for the match in the best possible way if we are going to win."
Inter's clash with Sassuolo prior to the international break was postponed after four of their players tested positive for coronavirus.
Samir Handanovic, Matias Vecino and Stefan de Vrij have all since returned to training, however, while Danilo D'Ambrosio is due back soon.
Providing a fitness update, Conte said: "Samir has been back for a while now and has had time to work. Matias has had three days of training and is in a good condition.
"Stefan only returned yesterday and will inevitably not be fully fit, and Danilo will be back as soon as possible. We need to get them all back in top condition."
Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham wins Laureus award
Jude Bellingham joined Novak Djokovic and Aitana Bonmati as the big winners at the Laureus World Sports Awards as the England midfielder won the World Breakthrough of the Year prize in Madrid.
Bellingham became the first footballer to claim the honour the day after scoring Real Madrid’s late winner in their 3-2 El Clasico victory over Barcelona.
The 20-year-old has had an outstanding first season at Real since joining from Borussia Dortmund last summer, scoring 21 goals in all competitions.
Djokovic was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record-equalling fifth time after winning the Australian Open, French Open and US Open to lead the way with 24 grand slam men’s singles titles.
“I am incredibly honoured to have won my fifth Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award,” said Djokovic.
“I think back to 2012, when I won it for the first time as a 24-year-old. I am very proud to be here 12 years later, reflecting on a year that brought me and my fans a lot of excitement and success.
“It was thrilling to return to Australia last January and win my 10th title. It is a tournament that is so dear to my heart and set me up for an incredible 12 months.
“I could not have achieved so much success without an incredible team behind me, and inspirational rivals who have always pushed me to be the best version of myself.”
Bonmati took to the stage twice to collect two awards – the first footballer to win the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year trophy and also represent the Spain team which won the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
She said: “It is humbling to see the list of previous winners of this award.
“From Serena Williams to Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Naomi Osaka and last year’s winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, they are all incredible athletes who have not only excelled in their chosen sports, but been incredible role models for younger generations of young women and girls.
“As the first women’s team to win the Laureus, we are proud of our status as pioneers and as a group we are as committed to equality and representation as we are to what we do on the football pitch.”
American gymnast Biles, a three-time winner of Sportswoman of the Year, won the World Comeback of the Year Award.
Biles collected four gold medals at the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, her first global event since leaving the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health issues and entering a near two-year break from the sport she had dominated.
Other award winners were Rafael Nadal (Sport for Good), Diede de Groot (World Sportsperson of the Year with a disability) and Arisa Trew (World Action Sportsperson of the Year).
:: The 25th Laureus World Sports Awards took place on Monday 22 April in Madrid, celebrating the leading names in sport from across the globe. To find out more, visit www.laureus.com.
FA seeks ‘formal observations’ from Forest trio over comments about officiating
Nottingham Forest face the threat of Football Association and Premier League charges over their extraordinary attack on the officiating of their match against Everton on Sunday.
Three Forest members of staff – head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, referee analyst Mark Clattenburg and full-back Neco Williams – have been asked by the FA to explain comments they made about the refereeing at Goodison Park, while the Premier League is also examining the club’s social media post which appeared to question the integrity of VAR Stuart Attwell.
The statements from the authorities came within hours of Forest demanding the release of VAR audio related to the rejection of three penalty appeals during their 2-0 defeat.
Forest first issued a club statement on X on Sunday, minutes after the final whistle, in which they said they had “warned” referees’ chief Howard Webb that Attwell “is a Luton fan” but that no change was made to the match appointment.
The club went further on Monday evening and called on Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to change its rules on officials’ allegiances to account for “contextual rivalries in the league table”, not just local rivalries.
The Premier League said it was “extremely disappointed” by the statement issued on Sunday and added: “It is never appropriate to improperly question the integrity of match officials, and the nature of these comments means the Premier League will also be investigating the matter in relation to the league’s rules.”
Sources have since told PA that Clattenburg did contact Webb on Friday to share that he thought Nuno might be asked about Attwell by the media, but that Forest did not raise Attwell’s appointment as a concern or make a request to change the appointment.
Chelsea to take strongest possible action after Nicolas Jackson racially abused
Chelsea have threatened to bring criminal charges against anyone found to have racially abused Nicolas Jackson in the aftermath of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City.
The 22-year-old striker missed a number of chances at Wembley as his side bowed out of the cup with a 1-0 defeat and was subsequently the target of abuse on social media.
The racist comments were left on an Instagram post he had made following last week’s victory over Everton, in which he scored his 10th goal of the season.
In a statement, the club said: “Chelsea Football Club is disgusted by the racial abuse directed towards Nicolas Jackson via social media, following Saturday evening’s game.
“There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and we operate a zero-tolerance approach to any incident of this nature.
“The club will support any criminal prosecutions and take the strongest possible action, including bans, against any individual who is found to be a season ticket holder or member.”
Defending the Senegal international’s record during his debut season – since signing for Chelsea from Villarreal – manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “Jackson is doing fantastic and he will always have my support.
“He’s doing an amazing job for the team: running, scoring, assists.
“It’s not easy in the first season. Nicolas fights for the club and he will be better next season, no doubts.”
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