View from the Opposition: The quickfire scouting report on Inter

How do you rate Inter’s season so far?

"There’d be plenty to turn your nose up at if you were only looking at the last four matches, but when you think back to the way the Nerazzurri finished last season, Spalletti’s first few months in charge have been hugely positive.

"If I had to give them a mark out of ten, it’d be a seven. Despite an underwhelming summer transfer window, they were in and around the top of the table until the beginning of December, despite having to compete with Juve and Napoli, who are on another level in my eyes. They dropped off a bit after that, but regardless of whether Lazio and Roma win their games in hand next week Inter are on track to finish in third or fourth place. That would be like winning the title for the Nerazzurri this season."

What formation will Spalletti go for and who can we expect to see in the starting line-up?

"Spalletti has taught us not to expect many clues in the run up to matches over the past few months, but in truth the spine of the team has remained quite constant. I expect he will pick a 4-2-3-1 formation with Samir Handanovic in goal, Milan Skriniar and Joao Miranda at centre-back, Joao Cancelo and Davide Santon at full-back, Roberto Gagliardini and Matias Vecino in central midfield, Borja Valero playing just in front of them and Antonio Candreva and Ivan Perisic either side of Mauro Icardi up top."

Who is Inter’s key player for the Roma game and why?

"Thinking back to the game in Rome, I’ll go with Ivan Perisic – he caused Alessandro Florenzi all sorts of trouble on the wing. It was a very balanced game, but even so the Croatian ended up supplying two vital assists. He’s had an off month but if he can bounce back I think he could be the biggest threat for Eusebio Di Francesco’s side at San Siro."

If you could take one player out of the Roma team, who would it be?

"Given his performance last year at San Siro and the amount of motivation he’ll have after the recent controversy, I would say Radja Nainggolan. It’s in central midfield that Roma can cause Inter problems.

"Edin Dzeko is another one to watch – he’s not scoring so much this year but I still think he’s a top striker who works very hard for the team."