After collapsing 3-1 at Udinese two weeks ago, doubts on Leonardo's Inter reared their ugly heads. With the team suffering from a plethora of injuries and looking vulnerable at the back, there were suggestions that the Nerazzurri's bubble had burst, that they could struggle to get back on track.
What has happened subsequently, though, is quite a different story as Inter have embarked on yet another winning streak. The Italian and European champions defeated Napoli on penalties to reach the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, then rallied from 2-0 behind to edge past Palermo 3-2 last weekend and in midweek registered a 3-0 victory in Bari.
Back-to-back league wins mean that the Beneamata are now just seven points behind leaders Milan in Serie A with 41 points from 22 matches; that gap will be narrowed down to just four should they win their game in hand.
Currently placed in the top-four, Inter are indeed back in contention for the Scudetto and, having lost just once at home all season, will be confident of getting the better of Roma on Sunday evening.
Winning Is The Only Objective
Roma talisman Francesco Totti has the winning mentality and although the Italian veteran hasn't won much silverware with the Giallorossi in his career, he has often inspired his team to big-game wins. Sunday evening's encounter against Inter at San Siro is one of the big matches that Roma cannot afford to lose, and Totti knows that.
"The game against Inter is very important," Totti told the press. "We cannot underestimate the value of the game as we are nine points behind Milan and have a game in hand. If we want to remain within reach of Milan then we have to get a result. In any case, the league is still long and so there is time."
Roma head into the clash in fifth place in Serie A with 39 points from 22 matches; despite retaining a game in hand, the former Italian champions are nine points off the pace and a draw or a defeat on Sunday evening could potentially ruin their Scudetto hopes.
To increase the pressure, the Lupi's away form isn't very encouraging as they have won only three times on the road in the league - that's three games out of 11. Roma may have scored 11 goals in those matches, but they have been a mess defensively, having conceded a whooping 17 goals away from the Stadio Olimpico, a record they hold jointly with third-from-bottom Cesena.
TEAM NEWS
Inter
Stankovic, Cordoba, Mariga, Lucio, Castellazzi and Samuel are injured and are unavailable.
Roma
Pizarro, Brighi and Adriano are sidelined with injuries and will miss the trip to Milan. Mexes is suspended.
Prediction
Inter have a strong form at home while Roma are modest away. The Nerazzurri are on a three-match winning streak and against Roma on Sunday evening they should be able to eke out a narrow victory.
Inter Milan 2-0 Roma 
