INTER

League position: 7th
Head coach: Simone Inzaghi
Serie A top scorer: Lautaro Martinez (three)

RECENT FORM

INTER: L L W W L
ROMA: L L W W L

Inter suffered their third league defeat of the campaign as they surrendered a 1-0 lead at Udinese prior to the international break, ultimately ending up well beaten in a 3-1 loss.

They sit seventh going into this weekend’s Serie A return and will be without Marcelo Brozovic and Romelu Lukaku, but Hakan Calhanoglu may be fit enough to feature in some capacity.

The Giallorossi are a point better off than their hosts after seven rounds of the campaign, but also tasted defeat last time out.

Paulo Dybala pulled up with a knock before the 1-0 loss to Atalanta and will be touch-and-go for the trip to the San Siro, which means Mourinho could put Nicolo Zaniolo and captain Lorenzo Pellegrini in support of Tammy Abraham - or even partner the England international with Andrea Belotti.

Possible Inter line-up

(3-5-2)

Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Asllani, Gagliardini, Gosens; Martinez, Dzeko

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Lautaro Martinez

The Argentine is Inter’s top-scorer with three league goals this season, but Martinez hasn’t found the back of the net since Matchday 4.

He was, however, on the scoresheet for his country against Honduras last weekend and then provided an assist four days later as Argentina beat Jamaica.

Martinez broke his duck against Roma in Inter’s 3-1 victory in Milan last term and will be hoping to now make it back-to-back games that he scores past the Giallorossi.

In former Roma man Edin Dzeko, Martinez has a physical foil for his liveliness and Roma will need to be on their toes this weekend.

MATCH STATS

Inter are unbeaten in their last 10 Serie A matches against Roma (W4, D6), but Roma’s last victory in this fixture did come at the Giuseppe Meazza in 2017.

Their recent record remains split down the middle, though, with both sides winning five games each (seven draws) over the last 17 league meetings.

Inter have lost at least three of the first seven matches in a single Serie A season for just the 10th campaign in their history and a Roma win would make it four defeats from eight at the start of a term for only the second time.

Roma have played Inter more times previously than any other club (212 games) in all competitions and their 61 victories over the Nerazzurri are the fifth most wins by the Giallorossi over any single team.

PLAYER STATS

• Since last season, Inter have won 69% of Serie A matches with Brozovic on the pitch (29/42) and average 2.2 points per game, compared to two draws and a defeat in their three games without him.
  
• Denzel Dumfries has netted a goal in both his two league matches against Roma.
  
• Belotti has scored four goals against Inter in Serie A, all of which have come at the San Siro.
  
• During his time at Inter, Mourinho won two Scudetti, the Coppa Italia, a Supercoppa Italiana and also the Champions League.

WHAT THEY SAID

“Inter need to do well, because it has been difficult recently and Lukaku’s absence has been really keenly felt, as he is the most important player in the squad.

“Roma are certainly in better shape and want to get some consistency, they are an entertaining squad and can be the surprise of the season.”

- Former Inter president Massimo Moratti