Resuming their Serie A campaigns with a heavyweight encounter at San Siro, potential title rivals Inter Milan and Roma meet on Saturday evening.
On a rare day of setbacks for Italy's top teams just before the international break, both sides lost, so will be keen to take three points and keep pace with the early pace-setters.
Match preview
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When Nicolo Barella put Inter a goal ahead inside the first five minutes at Udinese's Dacia Arena, when the Nerazzurri last took to the field, it seemed that they were well on the way to securing their third successive victory.
However, like Juventus, Milan and this week's opponents Roma, they succumbed to defeat by the final whistle, amid a series of unusual results in Serie A's seventh round.
Simone Inzaghi's side lost their third straight away game in the top flight - the first time Inter have done so since 2017 - as their in-form hosts fought back to equalise and then seal a 3-1 victory through two late goals.
After back-to-back defeats in the Derby della Madonnina and to Bayern Munich in Europe, it seemed Inzaghi had steadied the ship when a late win over Torino was followed by victory against Czech champions Viktoria Plzen to move third in a Champions League group also featuring Bayern and Barcelona.
However, the Nerazzurri have now lost at least three of their first seven Serie A matches for just the 10th time in their history, and on only one previous occasion have they registered four in the first eight - 11 years ago.
A repeat of such a start would be unthinkable; raising the stakes still further on Saturday. Yet, seventh-placed Inter can at least welcome Roma to the second city having won each of their last seven home games in the league - keeping four clean sheets in the process.
Not only that, but Inter are also unbeaten in 10 top-flight matches against their counterparts from the capital - the club's best streak against the Giallorossi for more than 80 years.
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In keeping with their travails against Serie A's other top-six contenders, Roma's most recent league victory over Inter came as long ago as February 2017.
Jose Mourinho's current side, though, arrive in Milan one point ahead of their opponents in the standings, after a promising start to the 2022-23 campaign.
Taking 13 points from a possible 15 to begin the season led to talk of a sustained Scudetto push - particularly with former Inter transfer target Paulo Dybala settling in so impressively since switching from Juventus - but such form faltered approaching the international break.
Roma have lost two of their last three league games - as many as in the previous 21 - following a 4-0 thumping by surprise package Udinese and an unfortunate home loss versus Atalanta. Despite dominating much of the game, the Giallorossi were stung by Giorgio Scalvini's 35-minute strike last time out, from La Dea's only shot on goal.
Missing Dybala due to a pre-match hamstring pull, Mourinho was forced to adapt his starting XI, and they sorely missed the contribution of a player who had opened the scoring in their previous two games and was also involved in five of their eight Serie A goals this season.
While the mercurial forward's participation this weekend remains in the balance, Roma can still turn to last term's top scorer Tammy Abraham, summer recruit Andrea Belotti and recent returnee Nicolo Zaniolo to threaten what has been an unusually vulnerable Inter defence. And, of course, Mourinho will need no extra motivation than facing his former club.
Team News
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Initially due to suspension, but now also because of a thigh injury sustained on international duty, Inter will be without midfield regular Marcelo Brozovic on Saturday. Since the start of last season, the Nerazzurri have won 69% of their Serie A matches with the Croatian on the pitch; in three without him, they have never won and average only 0.7 points.
On the road to recovery from a thigh problem of his own, Romelu Lukaku is still training separately from his teammates and also misses out, but Hakan Calhanoglu may be able to return from the start.
With Brozovic absent, Henrikh Mkhitaryan will compete with Kristjan Asllani and Roberto Gagliardini for places in central midfield.
Wing-back Denzel Dumfries should start on the right flank of Simone Inzaghi's customary 3-5-2, having scored in both of his Serie A matches versus Roma to date. Up front, Edin Dzeko will hope to earn selection over Joaquin Correa and face his former club.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho has both Marash Kumbulla and Stephan El Shaarawy back at his disposal after injury, though Dutch pair Georginio Wijnaldum and Rick Karsdorp remain long-term absentees.
Having failed to feature for Argentina over the last fortnight, doubts remain about the readiness of Paulo Dybala, who will most likely be involved from the bench, so Tammy Abraham should be supported by Nicolo Zaniolo and captain Lorenzo Pellegrini up front.
Another option open to Mourinho, upon his latest return to San Siro, is Andrea Belotti. The ex-Torino striker has found the net four times against Inter in Serie A before - each one in Milan - and since 2016, no-one has scored more against them on their home turf.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Asllani, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko
Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Zalewski, Cristante, Matic, Spinazzola; Pellegrini, Zaniolo; Abraham
We say: Inter Milan 1-0 Roma
In the first seven games of this Serie A season, Inter have netted 13 goals compared to 22 at this stage in 2021-22, while Roma have only eight this term - half of their tally this time last year. For all the attacking talent on display, this is set to be a cagey encounter, and the home side could steal it by a single goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
