Inter Milan vs. Roma games have often resembled the rivalry between Italy and Spain; one more clinical team (Inter and Italy) against one used to playing better football (Roma and Spain).
But in recent years, the Nerazzurri have struggled to be clinical in the fixture. Since 2010 they have won only three of their 14 Serie A clashes with Roma and all of those have come at home. For their part, Roma have won six and scored some impressive wins at the San Siro (3-0 and 3-1).
This time around, Roma are the favourites again. Having won 2-1 earlier this season, they earned 87 points in the calendar year of 2016 (a pace that only Juventus have bettered) and look in good form. Even if their football hasn't been overly impressive at times, the Giallorossi have discovered a mean streak this season (11 clean sheets), and have beaten Milan and Lazio by pressing the opposition and scoring on the counter.
Stefano Pioli's plight is made worse by Joao Miranda's suspension. Inter need to contain one of the league's most spectacular attacking sides without their main pillar at the back and it's anyone's guess what the manager will do.
He refused to mask the team's weakness (the defence) when he first joined, fighting fire with fire against Milan and Fiorentina (and arguably Juventus) by trying to take the game to the opposition. Miranda's absence may tip the scales here and force Pioli to continue with the more conservative straight back four he used in the win over Bologna rather than his favoured 3-4-2-1.
As a result, Jeison Murillo may move into the centre but will need to outmuscle Serie A's leading goal scorer Edin Dzeko -- who has looked composed and seems to be the kind of complete striker that Inter fans want Mauro Icardi to become -- while converted centre-back Gary Medel will also be called upon to contain midfielders Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman, who have made an art form out of their clever runs off the ball.
At full-back, Cristian Ansaldi (or, heaven forbid, Yuto Nagatomo) will need to stifle the effervescent Mohamed Salah, who made a fool of Davide Santon in the previous clash; Danilo D'Ambrosio has to maintain his position and stop the onrushing Emerson, who has been the surprise of the last few weeks as Roma have settled into a 3-4-2-1 of their own.
Teams who do well against Roma have tended to play vertically, or press the Giallorossi early and quickly feed the ball forward, as Sampdoria did recently in mounting a comeback and winning 3-2.
Roma's 3-4-2-1 can leave space behind the full-backs, something Udinese exploited recently, and this scenario could be custom-made for wingers Ivan Perisic and Antonio Candreva.
Whoever plays in midfield will have a tough time of it, but the options all bring advantages of their own, whether it's the recovered Geoffrey Kondogbia's intensity, Roberto Gagliardini's passing vision (switching the play quickly will be key) or Joao Mario's runs.
Though he may struggle to keep up if he plays for 90 minutes, Marcelo Brozovic could be a second half option to unleash counters, something Juventus did when defending their lead to beat Roma 1-0 in December.
As intimidating as the opposition are, Inter fans are well within their rights to expect something from the game. How else should they react to nine wins in 10? With the club eking out points they'd have dropped last year, it's time for everyone from the president down to start believing that this team is back where it belongs.
And there is hope. Roma's poor away form is a cause for optimism: the Giallorossi have won just six of their 13 ties on the road and have been reminiscent of Manchester City in the Premier League as they have created the second-most chances, but scored only the seventh-most goals away from the Stadio Olimpico.
Spalletti also tends to favour Daniele De Rossi: a strong defensive presence, but the Azzurro isn't the creator Leandro Paredes is, and the young Argentine helps the midfield find a better shape and would be more of a concern if he played.
Dzeko may be Serie A's top marksman but he has also blown hot and cold to an extent, scoring almost as many braces (five) as Mauro Icardi has (six), but also missing a few sitters along the way. If the Bosnian doesn't take off, he can remained marooned on the runway for an entire game and that could give Inter some hope.
Is this enough to be optimistic? Possibly not. But if Inter have any aspirations of challenging for a place in Europe this season then a morale-boosting win over one of their rivals is the way to go about it. It's time to show that their recent good run has not been a fluke.