Serie A champions Inter Milan are away for the latest game in defence of their title this Saturday when they travel to Rome to take on Lazio. The visitors are third in the table with 17 points from seven games. Their hosts are six points behind, in sixth place. After winning the title, Inter endured a tumultuous summer, watching star players and their manager, Antonio Conte, walk out the door. The man they got to replace Conte, Simone Inzaghi, came from Lazio. As this prestigious job would suggest, Inzaghi did well with Lazio during his lengthy stint there, challenging for the title in multiple seasons. It will be interesting, therefore, to see the reception he gets upon his return to the Stadio Olimpico. Inter are presently unbeaten, winning five and drawing two of their matches. They have coped admirably with the loss of Romelu Lukaku, scoring more goals (22) than any other team thus far. Edin Dzeko, tied at the top of the scorer's chart with Lazio forward Ciro Immobile, has scored six goals; his strike partner, Lautaro Martinez, has scored five. Attacking midfielder Nicolo Barella leads the assist chart with five. Inter games have been full of goals, averaging 4.2 per game this season. Away from home, the Nerazzurri have won three of their four matches.
Inter have failed to win on their last two visits to Lazio, but won the previous three. At all venues, Inter have been unable to win four of their past six encounters with Lazio. The last three saw both teams score. Lazio enter this game on the back of a heavy defeat away to Bologna. Now coached by Maurizio Sarri, they are unbeaten in three home games, scoring an average of 3.6 goals in each fixture. That run includes a thrilling 3-2 victory over bitter rivals AS Roma. This match could go either way. Lazio have been in good home form against Inter as well as overall. We suggest backing over 2.5 goals.
Two teams in excellent scoring form can sometimes cancel each other out. However, recent meetings between Lazio and Inter encourage our belief that this fixture will feature many goals. Prepare yourself for an Italian top-flight slobberknocker, and bet on over 2.5 goals.