Lazio welcome Inter Milan to Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon looking to hit back after their heavy defeat to Atalanta BC earlier this week.
While the visitors have two wins to their name in Serie A, Antonio Conte has watched his team concede five goals to Fiorentina and Benevento.
Match preview
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Ahead of the final days of the summer transfer window, Conte still finds himself juggling the options in his squad as he looks to make further additions.
The club's financial situation could prevent any more significant signings being made before the end of the year, but Inter's first-team squad are currently motivated to show that no extra fresh faces are required.
Inter were far from convincing during wins over Fiorentina and Benevento, despite netting nine goals during that double-header.
Nevertheless, Conte knows that this side remain very much a work in progress with experienced names having strengthened the group in defence, midfield and attack.
Getting the better of Lazio would keep I Nerazzurri ahead of reigning champions Juventus, although they will need to improve in order to overcome opponents who will be eager to bounce back from their setback against Atalanta.
Despite being aware of the threat offered by their title rivals, Simone Inzaghi would not have expected his side to succumb to a 4-1 defeat at Stadio Olimpico.
Atalanta established a 3-0 advantage before the break, effectively taking the game away from Lazio with half of the contest still remaining.
From a psychological perspective, it remains to be seen whether Inzaghi's side are capable of providing an instant response to such a result, particularly when under pressure to avoid losing further ground on the teams above them.
While it is still early days, Lazio will not want to be left dealing with a double disappointment during the international break, a message Inzaghi will stress to his players ahead of Sunday's showdown in the capital.
Lazio Serie A form: WL
Inter Milan Serie A form: WW
Team News
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Lautaro Martinez could return to the Inter XI after coming off the substitutes' bench to net against Benevento.
Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella may also earn a place in defence and midfield respectively as Conte eases his players back into action.
Marcelo Brozovic will hope to replace Arturo Vidal, who came through 52 minutes of action on his full debut.
Felipe Caicedo will expect to keep his spot in the Lazio attack after netting his side's consolation goal against Atalanta.
Danilo Cataldi is pushing to take the place of Lucas Leiva in midfield, but Vedat Muriqi remains out of contention due to a positive coronavirus test.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Strakosha; Patric, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Alberto, Marusic; Immobile, Caicedo
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Bastoni, De Vrij, Kolarov; Hakimi, Gagliardini, Barella, Brozovic, Young; Lukaku, Martinez
We say: Lazio 1-3 Inter Milan
While Lazio can ill-afford to lose to another title rival at this stage of the season, we cannot see anything other than an away win. Inter are simply scoring too many goals right now, and they should have enough quality in their ranks to see off their hosts.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a draw or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Draw/Away:data
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 52.11%. A win for Lazio had a probability of 25.73% and a draw had a probability of 22.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.65%) and 0-2 (7.38%). The likeliest Lazio win was 2-1 (6.45%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.94%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood.
