Tonight at 20.45 CET, Inter head to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to take on fellow Scudetto contenders Lazio, in what is tipped to be an evenly matched contest. 

Inter are sitting joint top of the table with Juventus on 54 points, winning 16, drawing 6 and losing 1 match. Lazio are in 3rd place, with 53 points, right behind Inter and Juventus, having won 16 games as well, drawing 5 and losing 2.

Both sides head into this fixture in decent form, both unbeaten in their last 5 matches, Inter winning 2 and drawing 3, whereas Lazio have won 3 and drawn 2. Past meetings between the clubs have seen Inter win the majority, with 8 wins since 2012, and 6 to Lazio.  interestingly, Lazio have not won at home against inter since 2016.

Attack

Inter remain in 3rd place for the most goals scored in the league this season with 48 goals, and Lukaku remains top scorer for his side with 17 goals, averaging a goal every 117 minutes. Lautaro has contributed to 11 goals himself this season, and has amassed the most amount of shots for his side, averaging 3.9 every match.

The Nerazzuri are the 6th best team in the Serie A in terms of shots on goal with 14 per match. Lautaro is also Inter’s most fouled player, drawing 2.3 per match, clearly the striker is making a nuisance of himself for the opposition and his presence has been missed in the past few matches due to suspension.

Candreva continues to be Inter’s top assistman, with 5 to his name, and has provided the most amount of crosses for his side, averaging 12 per match. Lukaku has won the most aerial duels for his side, both in attack and defence, and continues to be a presence in the air.

Lazio’s attacking stats are very impressive, and this is helped in no small part by striker Ciro Immobile. As a sidenote, Lazio have scored the 2nd most amount of goals this year in the Serie A with 53 total, and have the 5th highest number of shots, averaging 15 per match.

Immobile is the leagues top scorer with an impressive 25 goals to his name, averaging a goal every 77 minutes. The former Borussia Dortmund man has been outstanding this season, averaging the most amount of shots for his side with 4 per match.

Luis Alberto has also been having a great season, he is the league top provider with 11 assists for his side, and new boy Lazzari has provided the most amount of crosses with 5 per match, a few less than ex-Laziali Candreva.

Sergej Milinkivic-Savic is ever present when it comes to aerial battles, and has perhaps unsurprisingly won the most aerial duels for his side.

Defence

Inter remain one of the best defensive sides in the league, slightly hampered by last weeks performance against Milan, but strong nonetheless. Conceding only 20 goals so far, Inter have conceded the 6th lowest amount of shots against them with 11 per match, but have the 5th highest amount of yellow cards with 2.6 per match.

One of the main reasons for Inter’s solid defence is Marcelo Brozovic, who has won the most duels for his side, averaging 8 per match, and Stefan de Vrij winning the most interceptions with 5 per match.

Milan Skriniar has had an on and off season this year, and has accrued the most amount of fouls for his side, averaging 1.59 per match, whereas Barella is Inter’s most booked player with 8 yellows to date.

Lazio are similarly impressive in defence this year. The Rome based side are equal with Inter on 20 conceded goals and are 10th on shots faced, averaging 12.28 per match. Lazio have committed the 2nd lowest amount fouls in the league, averaging 11 per match which is very impressive while Milinkovic-Savic has committed the most himself, averaging 1.95 per match.

Lazio’s hardest payer to beat is Lucas Leiva, the experienced midfielder has won the most amount of duels for his side with 9.47 per match, and Acerbi has won the most amount of interceptions with 5 per match.

Key players

One of Inter’s most important players this year has been Lautaro Martinez. The striker is having a bit of a breakout season and has reportedly drawn the interest of Barcelona and others. Lautaro’s influence on the field was particularly evident during his 2 match absence where his link up with strike partner Lukaku was sorely missed.

The Argentine striker has added 11 Serie A goals to his tally so far this year, and has created the most amount of opportunities for his side so far. Inter will need him to be on top form tonight should they hope to win against the stronger sides.

Lazio’s most important player is without a doubt Ciro Immobile, the striker is in the form of his life, has scored 25 goals to date, and looks like a sure fire win for the capocannonniere title. Immobile is in record breaking form, and whenever he gets the ball near the oppositions goal, he always looks like he can score, no matter the angle or range.  Inter will need to keep a very close eye on him as it is unlikely Handanovic will be ready for the match tonight.

Summary

This is tipped to be one of the closest fought matches of the season, and could prove vital to either sides campaigns for the Scudetto. Both sides arguably need to win this match, even though both managers will deny being in the race for the title.

Lazio have struggled against inter at home in recent years, and the fact Inter won the home leg of this fixture earlier in the season, a lot rides on this. We are either in for a high scoring, mental match, or a hard, tactical and defensive display, either way, it will be entertaining to watch, and no one knows who will come away victorious.

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