Roma out to ruin Inter's 'perfect match'

AS Roma are determined to spoil the party as FC Internazionale Milano look to defeat the capital side and finally claim the Serie A title on Wednesday night.

Foregone conclusion
Inter's triumph has long been a foregone conclusion in Italy. With seven games remaining, they are 16 points clear at the top and will clinch their 15th Scudetto with a win against a Roma team still smarting from last week's 7-1 defeat at Manchester United FC in the UEFA Champions League. Second in the table, Roma will still want to beat Inter, having lost to the same opponents in the last two Coppa Italia finals as well as in last summer's Italian Super Cup. "We are tired of attending other clubs' celebrations so we will do everything we can to ruin the party," promised Roma defender Matteo Ferrari.

Cup meeting
Former Inter star Ferrari will likely come up against his old side again next month as the two teams contest a third consecutive Coppa Italia final. Roma should have secured runners-up spot in Serie A by then, and Francesco Totti will be hoping they have restored some pride too. The Giallorossi captain told fans they would have cause for joy this season, while he has good reason to try to get on the scoresheet against Inter tonight. With Serie A's leading marksman on 20 goals from 29 games, one more strike would beat his personal best achieved in the 2003/04 campaign.

Inter target
Inter may be in a field of their own in Scudetto terms, but they have been striving to keep motivation high. Mancini has set his team the target of becoming the first in Serie A history to earn 100 points in a season - a feat that demands 19 points from their final seven outings. Alive to the threat posed by Luciano Spalletti's Roma, the coach has asked his charges to play "the perfect match" to celebrate winning the championship in front of their home crowd for the first time since 1989. Last term's crown was only awarded to the Nerazzurri after Juventus and AC Milan were punished as a consequence of the scandal that rocked Italian football last summer. A packed San Siro is ready to toast this latest success properly.