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Inter are preparing to take on Cagliari in Serie A on Friday afternoon, but there was a slight surprise in Cristian Chivu’s starting XI, as regular first-choice goalkeeper Yann Sommer was left out of the line-up for Josep Martinez. 

Why Martinez is playing instead of Sommer in Inter vs. Cagliari

Martinez has spent the last two seasons serving as Sommer’s understudy in San Siro, but has been Inter’s go-to goalkeeper in domestic cup competitions this season. He has played in all three of Inter’s Coppa Italia fixtures so far this season, plus the semi-final of the Supercoppa Italiana. He also has two Serie A appearances to his name this term. 

According to pre-match reports, Chivu intends to play Martinez for the second leg of Inter’s Coppa Italia semi-final against Como coming up on Tuesday evening (April 21). 

COMO, ITALY – MARCH 03: Josep Martinez and Yann Aurel Bisseck of FC Internazionale at the end of the Coppa Italia match between Como 1907 and FC Internazionale at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on March 03, 2026 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

However, given that Martinez has not played since the first leg of the Como semi-final, which took place six weeks ago on March 3, Chivu has decided to play Martinez against Cagliari in order to give him a ‘warm-up’ according to reports from TMW. 

Curiously, Martinez’s last appearance in Serie A also came against Cagliari on September 27, and that game ended in a 2-0 victory in favour of the Nerazzurri. His only other outing in the league this term ended in a 2-1 victory at home against Sassuolo on September 21.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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