Lazio-Inter, opposite motivations at the Olimpico: for the Biancocelesti Europe is still at stake<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tomorrow evening at the Olimpico Lazio-Inter will take place, a match that arrives in a peculiar climate, on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On one side there\u2019s Inter, Italian champions, already certain of the Scudetto and with their minds inevitably on next Wednesday, when they\u2019ll return to the Olimpico to play the Coppa Italia final\u2026 once again against Lazio. A decisively more important appointment for the Nerazzurri, who could therefore use the league fixture as a sort of dress rehearsal ahead of the clash that will award a trophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other side, however, there\u2019s a Lazio that cannot afford to let up. Maurizio Sarri\u2019s team still have a small chance of closing the gap on Atalanta in the race for the Conference League and they\u2019ll try to give everything until the very last available minute of this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A complicated campaign for the Biancocelesti, marked by consistency problems, fluctuating results and plenty of technical and off-field difficulties. And it\u2019s precisely the atmosphere around the team that will be one of the most peculiar aspects of the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Olimpico in fact is expected to be unusually empty: the Lazio faithful have confirmed their supporter strike, a choice that will inevitably weigh on the stadium\u2019s atmosphere. Nor will support arrive from the Nerazzurri side, with the organised Inter ultras having decided not to come to the Olimpico out of respect for their historic twinning with the Biancocelesti ultras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A surreal scenario for a clash that, at least on paper, would have deserved a very different spectacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the pitch, however, Lazio are still playing for a great deal. And one of the possible new developments could be the return of Nicol\u00f2 Rovella from the first minute. After a season in which he has found very little space and practically never managed to find continuity, the Biancoceleste midfielder could return to the starting line-up for one of the most delicate matches of the season\u2019s run-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An important chance for him and for Sarri, who is looking for quality, order and intensity in the middle of the park against an Inter that could instead choose to manage personnel and energy with a view to the Coppa Italia final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beware of underestimating the Nerazzurri, though: even with potential rotation, Inter\u2019s squad remains extremely deep and full of top-class alternatives. Among the most anticipated players is certainly Pio Esposito, ready to seize every opportunity to carve out space and confirm the qualities shown over the course of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than a simple end-of-season game, Lazio-Inter represents a particular juncture for both teams: for Inter a bridge towards Wednesday\u2019s final, for Lazio perhaps one of the last chances to give a European meaning to a season lived constantly between difficulties and tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in a few days\u2019 time, in the same stadium, the two teams will find themselves face to face again. This time with a trophy at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
INTER ANALYSIS: THE ONLY TRUE TOP TEAM IN ITALY<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inter already champions: inevitable rotation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Nerazzurri camp the mood is serene. The Scudetto has already been won and the feeling, also reading the main sites close to the Inter environment, is that Cristian Chivu will use the Olimpico clash above all to manage energy and personnel ahead of the Coppa Italia final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lautaro Martinez should still start, both to maintain match rhythm and to lead a line-up that could see several changes compared to the strongest XI. Possible rotation especially in midfield and defence, with a number of starters set to rest or to play only a portion of the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inter remain nonetheless an extremely deep squad, probably the most complete in the league. Even with many second-stringers on the pitch, the Nerazzurri will have quality, passing and intensity above the Serie A average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lazio, last call to give meaning to the season<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A different story for Lazio. Sarri\u2019s team come into the clash needing points and with a moral obligation to end the league campaign in a dignified manner after extremely complicated months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Biancocelesti have alternated good performances with inexplicable blackouts, paying for ongoing physical problems, a lack of consistency and a squad often too short in the decisive moments of the season. Now the objective is at least to try and keep the Conference League race alive, even though Atalanta remain ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the possible line-up changes could finally be the return of Nicol\u00f2 Rovella from the start. The midfielder, practically sidelined for most of the year, could retake the keys to the midfield against Inter. Important news above all for Sarri, who has often suffered from the absence of a true deep-lying playmaker capable of giving order and rhythm to the team\u2019s play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The probable line-ups<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lazio (4-3-3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motta; Lazzari, Provstgaard, Romagnoli, Pellegrini; Basic, Rovella, Taylor; Isaksen, Maldini, Zaccagni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inter (3-5-2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Frattesi, Zielinski, Sucic, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Pio Esposito.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even heavier rotation by Inter cannot be ruled out, however, with some undisputed starters potentially starting directly from the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Possible key to the match<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Lazio the main theme will be one: preventing Inter from controlling the tempo of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Nerazzurri are the team with the best passing game in the league and, even when they lower intensity and pressure, they often manage to dictate matches thanks to the technical quality of their midfielders. Sarri will therefore have to demand aggression, compactness and above all attention in transitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great deal will also pass through the wide areas. Inter tend to stretch the play a huge amount with their wing-backs, while Lazio this season have often struggled precisely with switches of play and off-the-ball runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going forward, however, the Biancocelesti could find interesting spaces especially if the Nerazzurri should drop the tempo and concentration already thinking about Wednesday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A match suspended between present and future<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The feeling is that this Lazio-Inter is a match suspended between two different thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Nerazzurri it represents above all a passage towards the last true seasonal objective still to be conquered. For Lazio, on the other hand, it can be one of the last opportunities to prove they are still alive after a difficult year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And perhaps that is precisely the paradox of tomorrow evening\u2019s Olimpico: a match that is theoretically a headliner yet risks being played in an almost silent atmosphere, with a half-empty stadium and with both sets of supporters already projecting towards the Coppa Italia final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All that\u2019s left is to wish you and ourselves a good match!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lazio-Inter, opposite motivations at the Olimpico: for the Biancocelesti Europe is still at stake Tomorrow evening at the Olimpico Lazio-Inter will take place, a match that arrives in a peculiar climate, on and off the pitch. On one side there\u2019s Inter, Italian champions, already certain of the Scudetto and with their minds inevitably on next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[285],"tags":[398,332,427],"class_list":["post-1021731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pre-match","tag-lazio-inter","tag-prematch","tag-serie-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021731"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1022716,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021731\/revisions\/1022716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}