Inter weakened as Lazio looms large
Serie A leader Inter Milan will be without Alexis Sanchez and Juan Cuadrado when it takes on Lazio in Rome.
Manager Simone Inzaghi takes his side to his former club boasting a strong run of form that has seen it win seven and draw two of its past nine games.
Things have also been going well in the UEFA Champions League, with early qualification for the Round of 16 allowing Inzaghi to ring the changes for a midweek stalemate against Real Sociedad.
Both Sanchez and Cuadrado started that game but drop out straight away. Sanchez has been rested because of muscle fatigue but the prognosis for Cuadrado appears more serious.
The 35-year-old – a free transfer from Juventus over the summer – is reportedly set for surgery on his achilles tendon and is facing a lay-off measured in months rather than weeks.
Inter is already without Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij but its numbers at the back are improved by the return to fitness of Benjamin Pavard, who should rejoin the squad for the first time since he picked up an injury against Atalanta six weeks ago.
Up front, Inzaghi will restore top-scorer Lautaro Martinez to the starting XI after he was kept to 25 minutes off the bench against Sociedad.
Martinez and Marcus Thuram have formed a strong forward partnership and the Frenchman believes they benefit from being on the same wavelength.
“There are many things about the partnership, but what I really like most is his technique and his sense of goal," Thuram said.
“We complement each other well. Lautaro is a very intelligent player and I try to be very intelligent too. We are two players who respect the game and it’s easier to play with someone like that.”
Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio finished second last season but has drifted into mid-table after a disappointing sequence in the league.
It has won just one of its past five matches in Serie A and qualified in second place from its UEFA Champions League group despite concluding with a 2-0 loss at Atletico Madrid.
Midfielder Nicolo Rovella is hoping he can affect the result, even though he admits coming from an Inter-supporting home.
“I come from an Nerazzurri family, so my family will be there but I hope they cheer for me,” he said.
“We are a strong team and we will take the field to win. We’re only thinking about doing well on the pitch and we’re all fighting for the same objectives. We’ll see at the end of the season what we manage to achieve.”
