Matchday 3 of the 2022/23 Italian Serie A season gets underway on Friday, with Lazio welcoming Inter Milan to the Stadio Olimpico.
Inter have started the campaign in eye-catching fashion, picking up back-to-back wins to put them joint top of the early standings.
Lazio are also unbeaten this term, having taken four points from a possible six. Can the Eagles end Inter’s winning start on Friday night?
Lazio kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Bologna, coming from behind to claim all three points on home soil.
The Eagles saw just 40% possession after Luis Maximiano received a red card on six minutes, but they managed to turn things around in the second half.
Last time out, Lazio were held to a goalless draw by Torino. Despite the best efforts of Ciro Immobile, who scored in the win over Bologna, Lazio managed just two attempts on target.
After recording 18 wins, 10 draws, and 10 losses last, Lazio finished fifth last season – 20 points behind second-place Inter. Who will come out on top this time around?
As for Inter, they claimed a 2-1 win at Lecce on the opening weekend. Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring after just two minutes, before Denzel Dumfries netted a 95th-minute winner.
The 2020/21 champions racked up 70% possession and 19 shots against Lecce. However, they lacked a cutting edge in attack.
That said, Inter cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Spezia last weekend – with Lautaro Martinez, Hakan Calhanoglu and Joaquin Correa grabbing the goals.
The Nerazzurri registered 19 shots for the second game running last time out. Meanwhile, they didn’t allow Spezia to record a single attempt on target.
Thanks to a strong end to the previous campaign, Inter are on a six-game winning streak in Serie A. They have also lost just one of their last 15 league outings.
Head-to-head: Both side picked up a win in this fixture last season, with Lazio winning 3-1 on home soil and Inter winning 2-1 at the San Siro.
When you look at the bigger picture, Inter have lost just three of their last 12 Serie A meetings with Lazio – securing seven wins in the process.
Team news: Lazio have two injury absentees at the moment, with Pedro and Patryk Dziczek set to miss Friday’s clash.
On the flip side, Inter have four players sidelined through injury – Hanrikh Mkhitaryan, Danilo D’Ambrosio, Dalbert and Gabiel Brazao.
Given that both sides have made a solid start to the season, Friday’s clash is destined to be a close-fought battle between two in-form teams.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score. However, Inter should have enough firepower to outscore Lazio.