Inter Milan vs Lazio preview - Mauri has sights on third

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri believes the team is the strongest it has been in his eight years at the club.

The Rome side go into Sunday's match at Inter Milan knowing a win would see them end the year in third place in Serie A.

The Biancoceleste followed their 2-1 triumph at Parma with a 3-0 victory over Atalanta last time out and head into the clash at the San Siro one point adrift of third-place Napoli.

"I've been here since 2006 and I have no doubt in my mind that this is the strongest Lazio that I've played for," Mauri told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I don't know if we will be able to finish third in the standings this season as there are many teams competing for that spot, but we will certainly try."

Mauri has proved key for Stefano Pioli's side, scoring six goals in 10 league games to help Lazio clinch eight league wins so far.

"It had never happened before that at this stage of the campaign I would lead my team in scoring," the 34-year-old midfielder said. "But it's partly down to experience and to the fact that coach Stefano Pioli fields me as a winger.

"Hence, it's much easier to score."

Lazio face a challenging schedule, with games against Sampdoria, Roma, Napoli and AC Milan at the start of 2015.

"It's going to be tough and the best way to face that difficult spell will be on the back of a win at Inter," Mauri said. "It's not going to be easy to, but we can try.

"We want to go into the winter break holding on to third spot."

Inter celebrated their first league win under coach Roberto Mancini with Monday's 2-0 triumph at Chievo.

The victory in Verona, their first league win since October 29, ended a five-match winless run in Serie A for the Nerazzurri and lifted them to 11th place, six points adrift of Lazio.

"We did well against Chievo and my team followed what we practised in training," Mancini said. "Now I want another win against Lazio.

"It would be fantastic to end the year with three more points, especially for the team's morale."