Lazio v Inter stat pack

MILAN – After the international break, the Nerazzurri are back in action against Lazio on Saturday. The Serie A Week 8 fixture kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 18:00 CEST. 

Read on to get your fill of pre-match stats!

PREVIOUS MEETINGS BETWEEN LAZIO AND INTER

There have been 156 league fixtures between the two sides, with 65 Inter wins, 54 draws and 37 Lazio victories. 

The Nerazzurri have won six, drawn two and lost two of the last 10 Serie A match-ups. Against no other team have Lazio won fewer games since 2016/17 (at least three against other opponents).

Inter have scored in each of their last four Serie A encounters with Lazio. The next goal they score will be their 250th in the league against the Biancocelesti.

1-1is the most frequent scoreline between these two teams (29 times), the most recent of which being their first league meeting last season.

OLIMPICO BATTLES

After triumphing in four back-to-back Serie A matches at home to Inter, Lazio have now won just two of their last seven league fixtures against the Nerazzurri in Rome (D2, L4).

Inter's next goal at the Olimpico will be their 100th on Lazio's patch in Serie A. 

The 78 previous Lazio v Inter league fixtures have yielded 27 home wins, 29 draws and 22 away wins.

The Nerazzurri have taken the points in four of their last seven trips to the capital in Serie A (D1, L2) – as many as in the previous 22 (D7, L11).

FORM BOOK

Inter go into this game with 17 points after winning five and drawing two of their first seven league games.

Maurizio Sarri's men were beaten 3-0 by Bologna last time out – their second defeat of the campaign – and currently have 11 points. However, they are unbeaten in their last 16 home games in Serie A (W14, D2), which is their best run since 2002, when they went 22 home games without losing.

For the first time ever, Inter have scored two or more goals in each of their first seven league fixtures. The 22 goals scored thus far represent the Nerazzurri's best return at this stage since 1950/51, when they set a record of 25 goals after eight games. 

Considering last season as well, Inter have now scored two or more goals in 12 consecutive league matches, netting 39 times in the process.

Since the break in 2020, the Nerazzurri have lost just two of their 29 away matches in Serie A (W18, D9). Excluding the newly promoted sides this season, no team have lost fewer away games in that period.

TRIVIA

Inter have had 11 different scorers so far in Serie A this season – in the top five European leagues, only Chelsea have had more names (12) on the score sheet this term.

Simone Inzaghi's side have scored more headed goals (seven) than any other team in the top five European leagues. 

Lazio meanwhile have conceded four headed goals this season – only Salernitana (five) and Genoa (seven) have let in more.

Saturday's showdown at the Olimpico will see the league's highest first-half scorers (Lazio, nine goals) face off against the highest second-half scorers (Inter, 14).

Inter and Lazio are the two teams to have won most points from losing positions in the current Serie A campaign: ten and eight points, respectively.

PLAYER FOCUS

Lazio v Inter could see Serie A's three top scorers – Edin Dzeko, Ciro Immobile and Lautaro Martínez – all on the same pitch together.

In two of the last four seasons, the league's top scorer has been a Lazio or an Inter player.

Dzeko has scored six goals in his first seven league games for Inter. Only three players have found the net seven times in the first seven Serie A outings of their debut campaign for Inter: Istvan Nyers (eight goals in 1948/49), Amedeo Amadei (seven in 1948/49) and Bruno Quaresima (seven in 1947/48). 

The Bosnian has scored three Serie A goals against Lazio but only once in his last ten games against them. 

No player has scored more headers than Dzeko (three) in the league this season.

In the past three seasons, Lautaro Martínez never scored more than three goals in his first six Serie A appearances – he already has five in the current campaign.

Nicolo Barella has provided more assists (five) than any other Serie A player this term and is only two away from his career best (seven in 2020/21).

Several Nerazzurri players plied their trade at Lazio before joining Inter. Aleksandar Kolarov turned out for the capital club 82 times in Serie A, scoring six goals. Samir Handanovic played once in the league for the Biancocelesti during a loan spell in 2005/06. Stefan de Vrij played 95 matches and scored eight goals while Joaquin Correa racked up 92 appearances and 22 goals.

Milan Skriniar made his Serie A debut against Lazio in April 2016 while playing for Sampdoria. His next win will be his 100th in all competitions with Inter.

Arturo Vidal has plundered four goals against Lazio in Serie A. Against no team has he scored more (four against Roma too).

COACHES

Simone Inzaghi is the coach to have earned most points (197) in the Lazio dugout in the three-point era and has the second highest points-per-game average behind Sven-Goran Eriksson (1.82 v 1.9) among Biancocelesti coaches in charge for at least 50 matches.

Maurizio Sarri has won five of his 10 Serie A meetings with Inter (D3, L2) and is unbeaten in his last six games against the Nerazzurri (W4, D2).

SUSPENDED PLAYERS

Lazio: Acerbi (two matches)

Inter: -