Internazionale vs Lazio - Serie A: Preview and Prediction

With Internazionale and Lazio facing off against each other at the San Siro on the coming Wednesday, we are in for a cracker of a contest. 

Inter are enjoying a perfect start to life in Serie A under new coach Antonio Conte. They continued their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 victory over rivals AC Milan on Saturday night. 

That victory for the Nerazzurri has kept them out in front in the fight for the Scudetto. However, the tests do not really stop there for Inter. 

They are kicking off a crucial period, with clashes against Barcelona and Juventus coming in the next few days, following this meeting with Lazio.

The match will be a sight to behold as the visiting side will try to topple the table-toppers at their fabled home, the Estadio Guiseppe Meazza.

INTER MILAN

The Nerazzurri are full of confidence following a morale-boosting 2-0 win over arch rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina and Antonio Conte’s troops will be looking to maintain their lead on top of the standings with a win. 

Inter have won all their four league games until now. Having conceded a solitary goal in the league, Conte's side is drifting above Juventus.

New recruit Romelu Lukaku has been in great form. The Belgian striker has quickly found his feet in the Serie A and should pose a serious threat to the Biancocelesti.

They are far from being a finished article, but the side has showed so much promise in so little time that it would be fair to assume that Conte's outfit are in it for the long haul.

The Nerazzurri were caught out in the middle of a torrid time under Luciano Spalletti. They have improved under Conte, which has brought about their brilliant winning start. 

They showed their credentials against Milan in the weekend, but now they should assert themselves against a team who tend to disappoint in these kind of fixtures. Given Lazio’s recent away defeats, that looks highly likely too.

LAZIO

Lazio, on the other hand, completed a routine 2-0 win over Parma at the Stadio Olimpico during the weekend, but they will face a much sterner test against the league leaders. 

That home victory followed up back-to-back away losses at Cluj and SPAL. They are hoping for a place in the top four this season, having fallen short in every campaign. But, at least the manager Simone Inzaghi has eased the pressure on himself for the time being.

Of course, Lazio could be under pressure again, given the magnitude of this trip. They are measuring themselves against one of the very best in the league. 

The Eagles have traditionally underperformed against top Italian teams and that is a worrying stat that they would like to forget sooner than later.

On their day though, Lazio have the firepower to tame any opposition and the leaders would most definitely be ware of the Roman side's capabilities.

They are loitering in the fifth position, having amassed only 7 points from their 4 games so far. It will therefore be a surprise if Inter do not manage to get the three points come Wednesday.

POTENTIAL LINEUP

Inter: Samir Handanovic; Milan Skriniar, Stefan De Vrij, Diego Godin; Stefano Sensi, Marcelo Brozovic, Nicolo Barella, Danilo D'Ambrosio, Kwadwo Asamoah; Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez

Lazio: Thomas Strakosha; Luiz Felipe, Francesco Acerbi, Stefan Radu; Adam Marusic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto; Senad Lulic, Ciro Immobile

KEY BATTLES

PREDICTION

The previous seasons have all seen the inconsistencies that a long season had brought out on the Nerazzurri. However, they appear much more relaxed and would be gunning to extend their lead.

Conte is a master tactician and is adept at changing his tactics according to the situation. The battle will definitely be won in the midfield, and whoever does it better, should end up taking all three points.

On the other hand, Lazio are heavily reliant on a few of their players, and this might just end up backfiring against the leaders.

We predict an Inter win.

Predicted Score: Internazionale 2-1 Lazio