Serie A returns from a short break this weekend and there is a massive fixture to whet the appetite on Sunday evening as Inter Milan meet Roma at the San Siro.
Inter Milan start this match sitting third in the league but are 8 points off second place Juventus and 9 points adrift of Napoli. A draw or defeat in this match could see them slip further behind the top two and out of the title race.
Roma start the game on 39 points, 3 points behind Inter Milan but with a game in hand. Win both this match and their game in hand and Roma could see themselves in third place.
Inter Milan ended 2017 in poor form and what looked like being an excellent season for the Nerazzurri could easily end in disappointment. Trends show Inter Milan have won only one of their last six games in Serie A and this is the reason they have fallen so far behind the top two teams.
Their last win came back on the 3rd December which was a convincing 5-0 home win over Chievo Verona. Inter Milan were flying high at that point but have not won a match since. There have been defeats to Udinese and Sassuolo plus draws with Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina.
However, Inter Milan have lost just two of their last twenty Serie A games and only one of their last eleven at home. They have scored at least one goal in eleven of their last twelve home league games.
Roma travel to Milan having suffered a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Atalanta in their most recent Serie A game.
That result means Roma have failed to win any of their last four matches in all competitions. There have been defeats to Juventus and Atalanta in Serie A plus a 2-1 loss at home to Torino in the Coppa Italia.
Roma were also held at home by Sassuolo in a 1-1 draw and this was another poor result in a match Roma were expected to win.
Trends show Roma have drawn two of their last three Serie A games and have won ten of their last fifteen on the road by 2 goals or more. However, they have lost by 2 more goals in three of their last five visits to play Inter Milan.
Team news and Inter Milan will be without right-back Danilo D’Ambrosio and centre-back Zinho Vanheusden who both have cruciate ligament injuries. Mauro Icardi should lead the line for Inter Milan despite transfer speculation linking the Argentine away from the club.
Roma will travel without the injured duo of Rick Kardsorp and Gregoire Defrel who have knee injuries. Radja Nainggolan has been linked with a lucrative move to China but should still start in midfield for Roma.
This is going to be a very intense match and the pressure is on the home team who have been struggling recently. Roma will want to feed off that pressure and could come away with a point from the game.