Scudetto holders Inter, struggling with injuries and coming off a tough Champions League loss, face a pivotal test at Lazio as they fight to stay in touch with Serie A leaders Atalanta.

Atalanta top the standings on 34 points, two ahead of Antonio Conte's Napoli, with Inter and Fiorentina both one point further back on 31.

Reeling from Tuesday's 1-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen, Simone Inzaghi's side remain without injured defensive pillars Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard ahead of Monday's visit to his former club.

Inter's 573-minute run without conceding a goal in the Champions League ended when Nordi Mukiele scored for Leverkusen in the 90th minute on Tuesday.

That capped a miserable trip to Germany for Inter, who failed to record a single shot on target in a Champions League game for the first time since February 2022 (versus Liverpool), and for the first time on record (since 2003-04) in the competition's first round.

Lazio, meanwhile, have racked up consecutive victories over Napoli in league and cup, with the Biancocelesti facing Ajax in the Europa League on Thursday before returning to Serie A action.

Inter could be six points off the top by the time they take to the field for that headline fixture, with Atalanta targeting a piece of history at Cagliari on Saturday.

Gian Piero Gasperini's Dea side have won nine straight Serie A games to equal their club record, having also won nine in a row between February and July 2020. Another victory would make this their best-ever winning run in the competition.

This is only the second time that Atalanta have topped the table at the end of a Serie A matchday since the competition returned to 20 teams in 2004-05, having only managed to do so after the fifth matchday in 2022-23.

Until now, Atalanta had never led the top-flight table as many as 15 matches into a campaign.

They are big favourites to maintain their winning streak against 15th-placed Cagliari, with Gasperini having no new injury concerns. Giorgio Scalvini is out, having sustained a shoulder injury ahead of Tuesday's Champions League 3-2 loss to Real Madrid, while Gianluca Scamacca and Juan Cuadrado are longer-term absentees.

While both Inter and Atalanta were beaten in Europe this week, Juventus claimed a huge result by beating Manchester City 2-0, courtesy of goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie.

The Bianconeri's triumph came despite them only having 31% of possession – only once previously on record (since 2003-04) have they won a Champions League game while having a lower share of possession (27% versus Chelsea in September 2021).

In Serie A, however, it has been a case of possession without purpose for Juventus, who remain unbeaten but have drawn nine of their 15 matches, including each of their last three, to sit sixth.

"Nothing bothers me. I perfectly accept all honest judgements, but I won't enter this story," Juve coach Thiago Motta said, when asked about criticism of their domestic form.

"I am only focused on my work: improving the team and helping my players. The rest doesn’t count much."

With last-placed Venezia travelling to Turin on Saturday, Motta should be confident of maintaining the feel-good factor built in midweek. 

Juventus have dominated this fixture historically, winning 10 of their last 12 Serie A matches against the newly promoted side.

Surprise package Fiorentina, meanwhile, are riding high on an eight-match winning streak in Serie A, and they could make history when they travel to Bologna – led by former Viola boss Vincenzo Italiano – on Sunday.

Victory for Raffaele Palladino's visitors would set a new club record for successive victories in Serie A, overhauling their long-standing mark from 1960.