Inter Milan vs Lazio: San Siro showdown with title hopes alive

The Nerazzurri are back at San Siro today for Serie A matchday 37

The wait is almost over. At 20:45 CEST today, 18 May, Inter Milan host Lazio at San Siro on Serie A matchday 37. 

The Nerazzurri are currently in second on 77 points, one behind league leaders Napoli. They have scored 75 goals and conceded 33. 

Inter Milan recorded a massive 6-0 win in the reverse fixture at the Olimpico: Calhanoglu, Dimarco, Barella, Dumfries, Carlos Augusto and Thuram with the goals. The game between the Nerazzurri and Biancocelesti offers us various interesting facts and stats. 

Head to head 

Inter Milan vs Lazio is one of the great classics in Italian football. 

The two sides have met 163 times in Serie A: 69 Inter Milan wins, 55 draws, and 39 wins for the Biancocelesti. 

In recent years, Inter Milan have dominated the fixtures with three wins in the last four meetings with Lazio in Serie A, with 12 goals scored (a perfect three per game). 

At San Siro, Inter Milan have won four of their last five against Lazio. 

The Nerazzurri are looking to keep a clean sheet in both games against Lazio in a single Serie A season for the first time since 2009/10. 

The Nerazzurri's current form  

Inter Milan's dominance this season isn't only reflected in the results. The stats tell the story of a team that controls play and is lethal in front of goals. 

They have completed 612 sequences of at least ten passes, more than any other side in Serie A, and eleven goals have come from said sequences, also a league high. Furthermore, Simone Inzaghi's team average 59.9% possession, a stat that proves their technical and mental control over games. 

Inter Milan are also set apart by their squad depth: Zalewski's goal against Torino saw him become the Nerazzurri's 19th goalscorer in the league. 

This is a Club record, beating the record of 18, set in 2007/08 and matched in 2019/20. 

Lautaro's numbers  

The Inter Milan captain has had 15 goal involvements in Serie A this season (12 goals and 3 assists). 

Should he score or provide an assist against Lazio, he would become the first player with at least 16 goal involvements in each of the last six Serie A seasons. 

Lautaro has scored six goals against Lazio, four of which have come in his last five games against the Biancocelesti. He only has a better record against Cagliari (11) and Atalanta (7). A constant threat. 

Calhanoglu, Dumfries and Lazio  

Always ready to strike. Lazio are one of Hakan Çalhanoğlu's favourite victims. 

He has provided six assists against the Biancocelesti (his best against a single side in Serie A) and scored three goals. Of teams in the Italian top flight, he only has more goal involvements against Fiorentina. 

The man of pace and devastating runs. Denzel Dumfries has put up his best attacking numbers against Lazio, with two goals and two assists against the capital-city club. 

In the 6-0 win earlier this season, Dumfries was a key figure, chipping in with a goal and an assist - the only time he has done that in the Italian top flight. 

A winning combo 

Bastoni and Dimarco also have fond memories of Lazio. Alessandro Bastoni, a gifted ball-playing defender, had one of his best-ever performances against Lazio: on 9 January 2022, at the Meazza, he scored and provided an assist. 

In the current Serie A campaign, he has assisted five goals, including the one scored by Dumfries against Lazio earlier in the season. 

Federico Dimarco also shone in the 6-0 win, scoring and providing an assist. Should he score again, he would equal his best-ever tally in Serie A: five goals, as much as in 2023/24 and 2020/21. 

Opponents: Lazio 

Marco Baroni's Biancocelesti are embroiled in the battle for Champions League qualification. They are currently fifth on 64 points, level with Juventus in fourth. 

They have won 18 games this season and drawn ten; they have scored 59 goals and conceded 46. Lazio have taken nine points from their last five league games, with two wins and two draws. 

Both victories in that time came away from home: against Genoa and Empoli. Meanwhile, they drew with Roma, Parma and Juventus. Castellanos is their leading scorer in Serie A this season with ten goals. 

Baroni should go with a 4-2-3-1: Mandas in goals, then a back four of Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli and Hysaj; Guendouzi and Rovella at the base of midfield; Isaksen, Dia and Noslin the three in behind the lone striker, Castellanos. Pellegrini, Patric, Tavares and Zaccagni are all unavailable.

Source: inter.it