Serie A | Gameweek 34

Apr 27, 2025 at 2pm UK

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

Inter Milan vs Roma

Match preview

Since beating Bayern Munich to set up a mouth-watering Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona, a visibly tired Inter side have seen their hopes of a domestic double come to a brutal end.

Just days after their last-gasp comeback win over Bologna in Serie A, the Nerazzurri failed to beat old rivals Milan for the fifth time this season as they were eliminated from the Coppa Italia with a 3-0 defeat on Wednesday.

Beaten 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, the Nerazzurri - who also lost to their Rossoneri rivals in the Supercoppa decider in January - suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.

It is two years since they last did so in Serie A, but amid growing concerns over their form and fitness, Simone Inzaghi's ageing side are in danger of suffering the same fate this weekend.

With a 13-match unbeaten run - and an unusually high number of goals conceded - Inter are now level on 71 points with sole challengers Napoli in the title race, and they cannot afford to make any more mistakes.

As such, the Nerazzurri's supporters will be hoping for precedent rather than recent form when Roma arrive at the San Siro: Sunday's hosts have won three of their last four home games against the Giallorossi.

Indeed, Inter could win five successive league games against Roma for only the third time in their long history, a feat last achieved in 1978.

Meanwhile, Roma have won just one of the last 15 top-flight meetings between the two sides, losing seven of the last eight - including the reverse fixture in October.

This time, however, they head to Italy's second city in good form, with a 17-match Serie A unbeaten streak dating back to December.

The Giallorossi, who have won 12 of those games, have gone 18 league games without defeat for the first time since a run of 24 between November 2009 and April 2010, when current interim coach Claudio Ranieri was in charge.

Since starting his third and final spell in charge of his boyhood club, Ranieri - who once had a brief but unsuccessful spell at Inter - has steered them away from the bottom two and into European contention.

Back in contention for a top-four finish, Roma's revival has been impressive, with a draw in last week's Derby della Capitale followed by a win over Hellas Verona to move within three points of the Champions League places.

In fact, the Giallorossi have collected more points than Inter or any other Serie A side in 2025, so they have only history to fear on Sunday.

Recent Performance

Inter Milan Serie A form:WWWDWL

Inter Milan form (all competitions):DWWDLL

Roma Serie A form:WWWDDW

Roma form (all competitions):LWWDDW

Team News

Inter's hectic schedule continues with the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona coming up. So Simone Inzaghi will be looking to rotate his remaining resources, especially after such a chastening defeat in the Derby della Madonnina.

Although Denzel Dumfries and Piotr Zielinski are both back in training, Inzaghi's options will be limited by the one-match suspensions of regular starters Alessandro Bastoni and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while the availability of Marcus Thuram is again in doubt.

In his likely absence, Joaquin Correa, Marko Arnautovic and Mehdi Taremi are all contenders to start up front alongside Lautaro Martinez, while with Dumfries still not fully fit, Roma loanee Nicola Zalewski could deputise if veteran wing-back Matteo Darmian needs a rest.

Elsewhere, Yann Sommer looks set to replace Josep Martinez in goal, while Hakan Calhanoglu takes Kristjan Asllani's place in central midfield.

Despite Claudio Ranieri's well-known penchant for tinkering, Roma should field a more settled side, with the main doubt being who will lead the attack.

The in-form Eldor Shomurodov, who scored the winner against Verona last week, will have to fend off competition from main marksman Artem Dovbyk.

Only star man Paulo Dybala and Danish defender Victor Nelsson are unavailable as captain Lorenzo Pellegrini has fully recovered from a shoulder injury.

Possible starting lineup

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Augusto; Zalewski, Barella, Calhanoglu, Frattesi, Dimarco; Arnautovic, Martinez

Roma possible starting lineup:

Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Cristante, Paredes, Kone, Angelino; Soule; Dovbyk