Unfortunately for their fans, Inter Milan don’t have much to play for right now. Sitting in fourth place and seven points back from red-hot Roma with just three matches to go, there’s virtually no chance that they can sneak into next season’s Champions League, and with a five point lead of their own over struggling Fiorentina coming into the weekend, the chance of them getting caught is fairly small.
Inter Milan vs. Lazio 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch Serie A online
With Roma effectively out of reach, Inter will be looking to beat up on the other Roman club to make themselves feel better.
Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
That leaves them facing their trip to play Lazio with very little in the way of incentive, always a dangerous place to be in late in the season. There is one thing that Inter can focus on, though: revenge.
Lazio beat Inter at the San Siro just before the winter break in Italy, a match that saw Inter melt down late and undo a lot of the good work they’d put in during the first half of the season. Things just haven’t been the same for Inter after that, never able to put in a sustained run of good form as their once-promising dreams of fighting for the title and making the Champions League again shattered. Beating up on Lazio on their home soil in retaliation would be a sweet feeling for Inter’s players and fans, and that might just be all the incentive the squad needs to put on a show.
Key player -- Stevan Jovetic (Inter Milan)
Jovetic has been playing extremely well of late after returning from yet another injury spell, including scoring a brace against Udinese last weekend. With Lazio likely to play a very packed-in defense in this match, it will be vital for Inter that the Montenegrin attacker have a strong performance, as his ability to worm through tiny spaces and pull the creative strings of an attack will be incredibly important against such a game plan. If he plays well, Inter could win with ease -- if not, they will almost certainly struggle.
Key matchup -- Lucas Biglia (Lazio) vs. Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan)
Brozovic has slowly become the heart and soul of Inter’s midfield this season, with the Croatian’s silky passing and outrageous creativity helping guide them to a number of wins they would have struggled to earn otherwise. That makes him Biglia’s number one priority to contain, and seeing how the Argentine tries to deal with him will be interesting. Brozovic is guileful enough to deal with a midfielder trying to bully him physically, and both strong and technically skilled enough to handle someone trying a more tactical approach to stopping him. Biglia is always up for a challenge, though, and if you’re going to focus on one individual battle in this match, this is the one.
Lazio injuries and suspensions
Out: Marco Parolo, Alessandro Matri, Stefan Radu, Stefan de Vrij, Ricardo Kishna In doubt: Senad Lulic, Filip Djordjevic, Wesley Hoedt, Dusan Basta, Lucas Biglia, Mauricio, Miroslav Klose, Milan Bisevac
Inter Milan injuries and suspensions
Out: None In doubt: Adem Ljajic, Jonathan Biabiany, Juan Jesus
Match Date/Time: Sun., 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
TV: beIN Sports (U.S.), Sky Calcio 1, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.), RAI International
Online: beIN Sports Connect, fuboTV (U.S.), Sky Go Italia (Italy), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)
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