Both sides put their unbeaten starts on the line at Stadio Olimpico, as Lazio host Inter Milan on Friday night.
Two of Serie A's top dogs convene in the capital, with the hosts having taken four points from their first two fixtures and their second city visitors winning both.
Match preview
© Reuters
Held to a grim goalless draw by Torino in their second game of the new season, Lazio are back on Roman soil for their third, and will welcome a familiar face back to the Eternal City.
The club now coached by Maurizio Sarri are faced by Simone Inzaghi's Inter, and their former boss returns having secured 108 wins from 197 Serie A matches in charge during his spell at the Olimpico.
The two teams shared the spoils last term, as an unhappy first visit to the opposition dugout for Inzaghi resulted in a Lazio win, while the Nerazzurri took maximum points at San Siro when the teams met in January.
After securing victory in the Aquile's opening game of 2022-23 campaign against Bologna, despite being reduced to 10 men for most of the game, Sarri now attempts to lead them to successive home wins at the start of a season for the first time since 2015.
Lazio finished fifth last term, having radically overhauled their style under new management, and are likely top-four rivals for Friday's opponents this time around.
Unbeaten in their last three home games against Inter in Serie A - winning twice - the Biancocelesti are now poised to tackle one of their toughest tasks of the year.
© Reuters
While they, like Lazio, had to scrap their way to victory on the opening day, Inter's first home match of the new campaign concluded serenely, as they saw off Spezia 3-0 in Milan.
Last term's top scorer Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring in the first half - reprising his double act with old partner Romelu Lukaku in the process - before Hakan Calhanoglu and Joaquin Correa sealed the deal during the second.
After two relatively straightforward fixtures to kick off the 2022-23 campaign, in which they are attempting to depose their city rivals and reclaim top spot, Inter are set for a trip to the capital which should fully test their mettle.
They may have won each of their last three away games in Serie A, stretching back to last season, but have yet to win four in a row under Inzaghi - the last such run came under Antonio Conte, between February and April 2021, on the way to the title.
Given Milan outdid them on the road last year, and went on to snatch the Scudetto, points picked up away from San Siro could prove invaluable to their hopes of being crowned champions in June.
After defeating Lecce and Spezia, Inzaghi's men have now won 10 of their last 11 in Serie A, so arrive at the Olimpico full of confidence that they can keep their perfect start going and put pressure on their closest rivals to play catch-up at the weekend.
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
After the horror of being dismissed just minutes into his debut, Lazio goalkeeper Luis Maximiano is back in contention on Friday, having served a one-match ban, and will compete with fellow summer signing Ivan Provedel to start.
Maurizio Sarri must also decide whether to continue with former Inter man Matias Vecino in midfield, or instead bring Toma Basic or Luis Alberto back into the first XI - both were restricted to substitute roles last weekend.
Without doubt, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will feature against his favorite opponent in Serie A, having scored five goals in his last seven matches versus the visitors. However, Francesco Acerbi remains out in the cold, amid talk of a switch to the Nerazzurri before the transfer window shuts next week.
Though recent arrival Raoul Bellanova remains a doubt for the game due to an ankle injury, only Henrikh Mkhitaryan is definitely set to be sidelined for Inter.
In the former's absence, Matteo Darmian and Denzel Dumfries continue to battle it out for a place on the right flank of a familiar 3-5-2 formation; Robin Gosens and Federico Dimarco duel it out on the left.
Former Laziale Joaquin Correa will be reunited with familiar faces in Rome, but starts on the bench, as Simone Inzaghi's setup features the Lu-La partnership of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez up front.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provodel; Lazzari, Romagnoli, Patric, Marusic; Vecino, Cataldi, Milinkovic-Savic; Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Brozovic, Barella, Dimarco; Martinez, Lukaku
We say: Lazio 1-2 Inter Milan
Inter can end their barren run away to Lazio this week, by building on momentum from their opening matches. While the tactical tussle between Inzaghi and Sarri is always engaging, it is the former who should come out on top this time, due to his depth of resources on the bench.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
