Inter battle defensive woes ahead of Lazio clash

Serie A leaders Inter Milan have made an excellent start to the season, but coach Simone Inzaghi may have to do without three of his key defenders on Sunday when they visit a Lazio side still searching for form.

Inter will be without their right-sided wing back Denzel Dumfries with Benjamin Pavard and Stefan de Vrij also likely to be absent through injury.

The trio have been instrumental as Inter made a fine start to the campaign, conceding only seven goals in their opening 15 games.

Maurizio Sarri's Lazio will hope to close the gap in pursuit of a top-six spot, having suffered a poor start to the season.

Lazio have 21 points and are in 10th place, trailing Inter by 17 points.

The title race is shaping up to be a two-way battle between Inter and second-placed Juventus, who trail the leaders by two points.

Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri played down his side's ambitions for the season and said their main objective was still a top-four finish ahead of Friday's match at Genoa.

"We know that Inter are the favourites, they are a team that were built to win the league," Allegri said.

"We have followed a path of growth and we must continue to improve with the main objective which is to return to play in the Champions League."

The gap between the top two and the rest has widened, with AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli under pressure as they sit nine points behind Inter in third place.

Milan were expected to fight for the title this season but have slipped off the pace, while their Champions League campaign also ended on Wednesday when they failed to reach the knockouts and dropped into the Europa League knockout round playoffs.

Milan face mid-table Monza at San Siro on Sunday.

Napoli's new manager Walter Mazzarri has lost his last two