Lazio, Inter unbeaten starts on the line as they clash today

Both sides put their unbeaten starts on the line at Stadio Olimpico, as Lazio host Inter Milan on Friday night. Lazio finished fifth last term, having radically overhauled their style under new management, and are likely top-four rivals for Friday’s opponents this time around.

Unbeaten in their last three home games against Inter in Serie A – winning twice – the Biancocelesti are now poised to tackle one of their toughest tasks of the year.

In a league which Inter are attempting to depose their city rivals and reclaim top spot, they are set for a trip to the capital which should fully test their mettle. Given Milan outdid them on the road last year, and went on to snatch the Scudetto, points picked up away from San Siro could prove invaluable to their hopes of being crowned champions.

Inter can end their barren run away to Lazio this week, by building on momentum from their opening matches. While the tactical tussle between Inzaghi and Sarri is always engaging, it is the former who should come out on top this time, due to his depth of resources on the bench.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Real Betis welcome Osasuna today

The Benito Villamarin is the setting for the late game on Friday night in LaLiga. It features two sides with 100% records with the winners certain to go top of the table for a couple of days at least. To some extent it’s extraordinary that Betis have managed to start the season with back-to-back wins given they’ve been unable to register a large chunk of their squad and have been struggling to fill the substitutes’ bench in their opening two games. They could only name six subs at Mallorca last time out but still managed to win the game 2-1 thanks to two Borja Iglesias penalties.

Osasuna will also be confident following back-to-back home wins. The fixture list was relatively kind to them in some ways though with a clearly out of sorts Sevilla rocking up at El Sadar on matchday one with big holes in defence while an injury-ravaged Cadiz were their second opponents. That shouldn’t take anything away from Osasuna’s bright start but this will be a much sterner test.  This will be a good test for both teams, though Real Betis have more quality and with home advantage look capable of having the edge over Osasuna.

Credit: laligaexpert.com

Resurgent Manchester United travel to Southampton

Manchester United will be looking to build on their impressive victory over Liverpool when they continue their Premier League campaign away to Southampton on Saturday afternoon. The Saints have made an impressive start to the 2022-23 league campaign.

The Saints have not actually beaten Man United in the Premier League since January 2016, while their last home league success over the Red Devils was back in 2003, but both fixtures between the two sides last term finished in 1-1 draws.

Man United, meanwhile, will enter this weekend’s contest off the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 victory over Liverpool. Erik ten Hag‘s side will now be looking to back up the victory this weekend, and there could be a debut for the club’s latest arrival Casemiro, who has now had his first training session with the club.

Southampton will be in a confident mood due to their strong start to the campaign, but the victory over Liverpool would have done so much for Man United, and we are expecting the 20-time English champions to collect all three points at St Mary’s by the narrowest of margins.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Chelsea & Leicester City square off at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea and Leicester City square off at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon with both teams having endured indifferent starts to the new Premier League campaign. While the Blues have collected just four points from their opening three fixtures, the Foxes have posted just one draw.

The transfer saga involving Wesley Fofana is inevitably going to dominate the build-up to this match with Chelsea attempting to sign the defender for a fee of at least £70m.

Nevertheless, both teams could do without the distractions given that they have recorded just one victory between them from their first triple-header.

While injuries have affected Chelsea’s midfield, that cannot be used as an excuse for Kai Havertz not making an impression in the final third, with only Raheem Sterling performing anywhere near to his ability in that area of the pitch.

Ordinarily, this would be regarded as a likely Chelsea win for a number of reasons. However, with the Blues missing a defender and facing a team motivated to get back on track, we feel that an entertaining share of the spoils will be played out in West London.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk