Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi is relishing the opportunity of returning to former club Lazio, a side the Italian feels will be challenging for the Serie A title this season. 

Inzaghi made 133 appearances for Lazio during his playing career, scoring 28 times across an 11-year stint with the club, while also winning the Scudetto in 1999-00. 

He also managed the Biancocelesti from 2016 to 2021, winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana twice before leaving for Inter three years ago. 

Inzaghi managed 254 games across all competitions for Lazio, triumphing in 134 of those matches (D45 L72), ending his time at the club with a win percentage of 53.39%. 

His time at Inter has seen him lift six major honours, and Inzaghi is looking forward to a reunion with his former employers at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday. 

"For me, matches against Lazio will never be the same as any others," Inzaghi told Inter TV.

"Even though this will be the eighth time I've faced them as a coach, there's always a special feeling when returning to the Stadio Olimpico."

"I don't forget my journey there, the trophies won, both on the pitch and then on the bench.

"I was lucky enough to have been at Lazio. For that, I thank all my former teammates and players."

But Inzaghi insisted that he would put those fond memories of his time at Lazio to one side on Monday, with the hopes of reclaiming their Serie A crown. 

Inter go into the clash third in the table, six points behind leaders Atalanta, but with the luxury of two games in hand, with Inzaghi's side doing well on the road this term. 

They have scored 41 away goals in 2024 in Serie A. Only in two calendar years have they done better in the competition (46 in 1949 and 43 in 2021). 

Inter have won 12 times away from home in 2024, with another victory on the road equalling their highest number of away wins in a calendar year (13 in 2007 and 2021). 

"(Inter is) a club where I feel great at the moment, and where I feel appreciated by everyone," he said. "That's why I'm proud of what I'm doing here at Inter."

But the Nerazzurri come into the game on the back of a last-gasp defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, dropping them to sixth in the 36-team table.

And Inzaghi is expecting a tough test against Lazio, who are fifth and level on points with Inter. 

"We know European matches take energy away. But it’s the same for Inter, for Lazio, and for all the teams that play in European competitions," Inzaghi said.

"In any event, I'm sure both teams will give everything to play a great match.

"We're facing a team who have won sixteen out of the 22 official matches they’ve played this season. It will be a tough match. We have to interpret it at our best.

"I said before the season started that it would be a balanced title race. With a lot of contenders, who have all strengthened.

"In my view, it’s right to consider Lazio as being in it."