epa11699763 Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi looks on before the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Venezia FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, November 03, 2024. EPA-EFE/NICOLA MARFISI

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi admits that the encounter with his former club “can never be like other games”, especially now that he believes Lazio “should be considered” in the Scudetto race.

It starts on Sunday at 7.45pm GMT at the Stadio Olimpico.

With both teams’ current form, it’s becoming a real title fight as Marco Baroni has revitalized the Aquile in Serie A, the Coppa Italia – where they knocked out Napoli last week – and the Europa League.

“It will be a complicated game as we are playing against a team that has won 16 of its 22 competitive games this season and has played very well even when they haven’t won,” Inzaghi told Inter’s official website.

“We have to give credit to everyone, the club, the coach and the players. Baroni is doing a great job, the team is organized and they play really good football. It’s only right that everyone acknowledges how well they are doing.”

Inter suffered their first Champions League defeat during the week when they conceded a last-minute goal against Bayer Leverkusen, where the squad rotation may have gone too far.

“We know that these international games really drain energy. “You just have to look at this weekend’s results in all leagues, but that’s what Inter, Lazio and all the participating clubs have to deal with,” Inzaghi added.

Inzaghi sees Lazio-Inter as a title fight

Atalanta are at the top of the table with Napoli in second place, so Inter and Lazio both need a positive result to keep pace with the top group.

“At the beginning of the season I said that it would be a very balanced season. In my opinion it is only right that we consider Lazio in the Scudetto race. Aside from her current position, I am impressed with her style of play and organization and that makes her one of the contenders to win.”

Inzaghi spent most of his career at Lazio, first as a striker and then as a coach, where he won the Coppa Italia and two editions of the Supercoppa Italiana.

“For me, a game against Lazio can never be the same as other games. I think this is maybe the eighth time I’ve played against them, the fourth at the Stadio Olimpico. I don’t forget the journey I made, the trophies I won first as a player and then on the bench.

“I thank all my former teammates and players, I think of President Claudio Lotito, director Igli Tare and everyone I worked with. I was lucky enough to be the coach of Lazio and now Inter, a club where I am very happy, valued and proud of what we do.”