Resuming their quest to defend the Serie A title, Inter Milan visit Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening, when mid-table Roma will seek to kick-start their season following the latest international break.

Inter finished with three straight wins before club football was put on pause, while their hosts continued to search in vain for consistency.

Match preview

After winning both of their first two league games under new boss Ivan Juric, Roma's mixed start to the season continued into early October, with a Europa League defeat to Elfsborg being swiftly followed by an underwhelming 1-1 draw in Monza.

Top scorer Artem Dovbyk was on target again as the capital club were forced to settle for a point from the latter, leaving them marooned in mid-table after seven Serie A matches.

With only one point on the board from two league-phase fixtures so far, the Giallorossi also have some catching up to do if they are to secure qualification for the Europa League's knockout stage, starting with next week's game against Dynamo Kyiv.

Despite all their woes - with former coach Daniele De Rossi recently following Jose Mourinho through the door, amid protests against club owners, the Friedkin family - Roma have scored in each of their last 24 top-flight home matches ahead of Sunday night's contest.

Finding the net again would represent their best such streak since between December 2015 and September 2017, but Juric will surely be more concerned with trying to keep the back door shut.

Not only do Inter boast a formidable attack, but Roma come into the clubs' latest meeting on a run of three straight defeats to the Nerazzurri at Stadio Olimpico; home or away, they have lost six of the last eight.

Inter's last trip to the Olimpico resulted in a 4-2 win en route to securing the Italian title, with Marcus Thuram's equaliser sparking a second-half comeback that secured maximum points.

In the champions' most recent outing, Thuram helped himself to a hat-trick against in-form Torino, wrapping up a 3-2 victory over an away side reduced to 10 men midway through the first half.

The French striker has now scored seven goals in his first seven league matches this season, joining only two other men that have managed that feat for Inter this century: Christian Vieri in both 2001 (nine) and 2002 (eight), and Lautaro Martinez (nine) last year.

Though the latter has been off-colour for much of the current campaign - after being crowned Capocannoniere and then top scorer in the Copa America - Thuram and several others have picked up the slack, and the Nerazzurri average well over two goals per game.

Having bounced back from derby defeat to AC Milan by winning two domestic matches and one in the Champions League, Simone Inzaghi's side are intent on using that momentum to unseat early pace-setters Napoli, now managed by their former boss Antonio Conte.

Recently linked with a possible future role at Manchester United, Inzaghi will be more concerned about his team's recent defensive lapses: Inter have conceded at least twice in each of their last three Serie A matches, equalling their worst such run since 2017.

Team News

Not only has Artem Dovbyk been cleared to play, after a knee issue that flared up while on Ukraine duty had threatened his involvement, but Roma's other key forward Paulo Dybala will be back in action on Sunday evening.

Dybala (124) is close to joining Gonzalo Higuain (125) in third place among the top Argentinian scorers in Serie A, after Gabriel Batistuta (184) and Hernan Crespo (153). Since failing to find the net in his first 10 league games against Inter, 'La Joya' has recently scored four in seven.

His return means that only Stephan El Shaarawy and Alexis Saelemaekers are sidelined, with Enzo Le Fee hopeful of recovering from a tendon problem in time to make the bench.

Meanwhile, Inter's midfield maestro Nicolo Barella - who missed out on UEFA Nations League action with Italy - will be back in the fold this weekend, but Piotr Zielinski is now consigned to the treatment room by a thigh injury.

After some chopping and changing while negotiating a hectic autumn schedule, Simone Inzaghi is set to select first-choice forwards Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, meaning Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic will be benched.

Among all French players throughout Europe's top five leagues, only Kylian Mbappe has been involved in more goals (40) than Thuram (28 - 20 goals and eight assists) since the start of last season.

Roma possible starting lineup:
Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Celik, Cristante, Kone, Zalewski; Pellegrini, Dybala; Dovbyk

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

We say: Roma 1-2 Inter Milan

With two more goals on Sunday, Inter would become the first team to score 300 against a single opponent in Serie A - and the reigning champions might just achieve that feat.

The Nerazzurri have yet to lose away from home this season, while Roma are still a work in progress in the early phase of their Ivan Juric era.


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