Two of Italian football's most successful clubs meet on Saturday evening, as Inter Milan welcome Roma to San Siro.
The visitors will move up to second in the Serie A table with a victory, while only three points would be enough to keep alive the Nerazzurri's fading hopes of qualifying for Europe.
Inter Milan
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It has been a disappointing campaign for Inter, who are heading towards their fourth straight season without winning a trophy and they may not even qualify for the Europa League.
They are a lowly 10th in the league table and with seven games of the season left to play they are seven points away from the final qualifying spot.
For a club of their stature, it really is unacceptable and instead of looking upwards they may have a battle on their hands to secure a finish in the top half, with Palermo breathing down their necks.
On far too many occasions they have failed to turn their dominance in games into points, and it was the same story last weekend as they played out a frustrating goalless draw with city rivals AC Milan.
They were by far the better team and were left furious with the referee at the end of the match, after he had disallowed an own goal by Philippe Mexes for an alleged foul in the build-up from Rodrigo Palacio.
Their attacking prowess is not usually called into question, as they have scored 46 goals in the league this season, with only Juventus, Lazio and Napoli finding the net more often. It is at the back where they have suffered and they have managed to keep just five clean sheets at home all campaign.
Recent form in Serie A: DDLDWD
Recent form (all competitions): DLLDWD
Roma
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Roma may be well placed to finish inside the top three this season, but they are not sitting as comfortably as they were just a few weeks ago.
They have drawn their last two matches and now Napoli have closed to within five pints of them in the table, as the battle for the final Champions League spot looks like going all the way.
The Giallorossi have not been losing many games, but they have drawn 10 of their previous 15 in the league, which has helped to destroy any hopes they had of challenging for the title.
They just can't seem to hang on to the lead and their meeting with Atalanta BC last weekend was another great example. Francesco Totti had put them in a great position by scoring from a third-minute penalty, but a spot kick from German Denis earned the visitors a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico.
However, a victory on Saturday evening would lift them up to second and above Lazio in the table, while piling on the pressure for Napoli and Sampdoria, who go head to head the following day.
Recent form in Serie A: DLWWDD
Recent form (all competitions): LLWWDD
Team News
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Inter will have to make do without Chilean international Gary Medel, who misses out after picking up a booking last weekend.
However, they are able to welcome back midfield duo Fredy Guarin and Marcelo Brozovic, who have both served recent bans.
Davide Astori is banned for Roma, so Kostas Manolas should return to take his place at the heart of the defence.
They are still without the injured Gervinho, but Daniele De Rossi is available after missing out last weekend.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic, D'Ambrosio, Ranocchia, Vidic, Jesus, Guarin, Brozovic, Hernanes, Shaqiri, Palacio, Icardi
Roma possible starting lineup:
De Sanctis, Florenzi, Yanga-Mbiwa, Manolas, Holebas, Nainggolan, De Rossi, Keita, Iturbe, Ljajic, Totti
Head To Head
The two teams played out a thrilling match when they met earlier this season, as Roma claimed a 4-2 victory at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma have a great record in recent meetings between the clubs and they are unbeaten in their last 10 games against Inter.
The Giallorossi have also claimed three successive wins against Inter at San Siro, despite ending two of those games with 10 men.
We say: Inter Milan 1-2 Roma
These two clubs have both struggled this season, but it could be an open and attacking game at San Siro. With both teams going for the win and not playing against opponents happy to sit back, it should bring out the best in them. However, due to Roma's good record against Inter, we feel that they will edge out their opponents and leave Milan with all three points.
Alex Meyers
