Tonight at 20:45 CET, Inter play host to Roma at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milano’s San Siro district. Roma are on a good run of form at the moment having won four of their last five matches, which include a 2-1 win over Napoli. They are sitting in 5th place in the league and could jump as high as third if they are to win and other results go their way.
Inter meanwhile have had a perfect past five league matches having won the lot the of them and currently find themselves occupying top spot in the league standings. With both teams in rich veins of form, a tightly fought contest can be expected. The two clubs have met 58 times previously with Inter winning 21 to Roma’s 17 with the other 20 games ending in draws. The last time the sides met at San Siro they played out a 1-1 draw.
Attack
Inter have scored the second most goals of all 20 teams in Serie A this season with them having scored 31 in 14 games. Only Atalanta (34 goals) have more than them. The Nerazzurri average 2.21 goals a game, some 0.3 more than their xG of 1.89 says they should meaning the Nerazzurri are having plenty of luck in front of goal. Romelu Lukaku is currently Inter’s top scorer in league play having scored 10 of his 11 goals in the league this season. He is scoring a goal at a rate of every 117 minutes on average.
Roma have scored the fifth most goals this season with them having 26 to their name. They have averaged 1.85 goals per game, which is 0.11 than their xG mark meaning, like Inter, they are having plenty fortune in front of goal. Edin Dzeko, a player who was very heavily linked with a move to Inter this past Summer, is their current top scorer in Serie A with six goals with him scoring a goal on average every 202 minutes played.
Defence
As well as having the second most goals, Inter have also conceded the second least with them having allowed 13 goals so far, an average of 0.92 goals a game. Inter are performing pretty much as expected with their xGc mark currently sitting at a league low of 12.91. The ever reliable Samir Handanovic, who was named in the Serie A team of the year earlier this week, has five clean sheets to his name.
Roma have let in the fifth least amount of goals having conceded 15, which is an average of 1.07 goals per game. The Giallorossi’s xGc mark currently sits at 18.47 meaning they are doing very well on the defensive front. Only Cagliari and Hellas Verona can boast having bigger differences between their xGc and goals conceded columns. Goalkeeper Pau Lopez has helped them keep four clean sheets.
Key Players
Lautaro Martinez is the man of the moment for Inter with him in sensational goal scoring form across all competitions. The 22-year-old Argentine international has scored three goals in his last two league games and has netted eight in 14 games in the league in total this season. He is currently outperforming his xG by 0.18.
The aforementioned Edin Dzeko will be key for Roma’s chances of success tonight at San Siro. The Bosnian international put in a really good performance the last time out against Inter at San Siro and Inter defenders will have to keep a very close eye on him.
Summary
In summary, it looks like Inter are going to be in for a tough game against a side who clearly know what they are doing at both ends of the field. Goals can be expected in this one and stats would suggest a 2-1 victory in favour of the hosts, who will be able to guarantee that they stay in top spot.
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