Inter go to Lazio with the Scudetto already secured after their 2-0 win over Parma, but the game hardly feels empty. The Coppa Italia final against Lazio is scheduled for May 13, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu is still training separately from his teammates, with Sky Sport Italia reporting that he is unlikely to be fit for that final.

Why Inter are likely to rotate

With the title wrapped up, Sports Mole said Inter will surely rest some players ahead of the cup final, and Cristian Chivu has enough options to do it. That is the bigger issue for this trip. Saturday is a title-lap match, not a pressure game, and Inter are already sitting on 82 points after 35 Serie A matches, one more than they managed across all of last season.

The forward line gives Chivu choices. Lautaro Martínez leads Inter's league scoring with 16 Serie A goals, while Marcus Thuram has 13 and has scored 6 times in his last 5 league appearances. If Inter decide to keep their sharper pieces fresh, there is enough recent output to justify it.

The injury piece is more awkward. Çalhanoğlu is the one named problem, and the report that he is training separately matters because this is not a case of routine squad management. It is a thigh issue being managed during a week that already leads into a final.

Lazio's league push versus the cup final

Lazio's situation is less comfortable. They are eighth on 51 points from 35 league matches, and the sources frame their European chase in two slightly different ways, either four points behind a prospective Conference League spot or four points adrift of seventh-place Atalanta. The point is the same: there is still something to play for in the league, but the margin is tight.

They also have the final on Wednesday to think about, which makes this fixture a balancing act for Maurizio Sarri. Lazio have 13 wins, 12 draws and 10 defeats in Serie A, and the league table says they are still alive in the chase while the calendar says they cannot afford to burn everyone out before the cup.

Inter's recent record in Rome only adds to the feeling that this is a tricky assignment for Lazio. Inter have won their last two clashes at the Stadio Olimpico by an 8-0 aggregate scoreline. That does not decide Saturday on its own, but it does explain why this feels more like a dress rehearsal around the final than a straightforward league test.

If Chivu rotates, it will not be because Inter are taking the weekend lightly. It will be because the trophy that matters most next week is still ahead, and Çalhanoğlu's fitness is not where Inter would want it to be before May 13.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →