By Jake Glavies

Just a few days before its weekend match against Udinese, Inter is trying to juggle roster spots and coaching duties to keep from losing more ground to AC Milan and AS Roma.

A 0-0 draw with Sampdoria Saturday was just the beginning of Inter’s woes. Not only did it allow title challengers AC Milan and AS Roma – who sit just four and five points back respectively – to narrow the gap atop the Serie A table, but the Nerazzurri lost four players and their coach to suspensions this week.

Defenders Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba were both shown red cards against the Blucerchiati and automatically ruled out of this weekend’s meeting with Undinese; once the final whistle blew though, the news went from bad to worse as the squad learned that coach Jose Mourhino would be suspended for three matches for a gesture he made toward referees during the contest. Midfielders Esteban Cambiasso and Sulley Muntari were also slapped with bans after the draw.

Even more, defender Cristian Chivu will miss the clash with Undinese with a head injury, while Marco Materazzi and Davide Santon may be rushed back from injury to fill vacancies in the defense. With three regular players missing from the defense, Inter will certainly field a makeshift back line at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Sunday. If all injuries and suspensions hold, the group will consist of Maicon, Lucio, Matterazzi and Santon.

Inter’s rough and ready defense will be pushed to its limits by one of Serie A’s most feared goal scorers, Antonio Di Natale. Currently leading the league with 18 goals – Inter’s Diego Milito is second with 14 – Di Natale has had three multi goal matches this season, with the most recent coming when he accounted for all of Udinese’s scores during a 3-1 win over Napoli Feb. 7.

If Matterazzi and Santon aren’t yet fully recovered from their injuries and Inter is forced to dig deep into its roster for substitutes Sunday, the Nerazzurri might find themselves in a much tighter title race come Monday.