Inter were labelled as favourites to win the Serie A title by Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, and Simone Inzaghi took the compliment in his stride.
The Nerazzurri host Juventus in the Derby d'Italia on Sunday, with three points separating the sides in the standings.
Inter are behind Milan and a Napoli side who have made a flying start to the campaign, winning all eight matches.
However, Allegri insisted in his pre-match news conference on Saturday that Inter were still the favourites, despite having lost coach Antonio Conte, star striker Romelu Lukaku and full-back Achraf Hakimi over the close season.
Inzaghi responded by accepting Allegri's flattery, though the Inter boss does not agree with his Juventus counterpart.
"The championship is at the beginning," Inzaghi told a news conference. "It's a very important match between two very competitive teams.
"If [Allegri] says so, a coach I respect so much, it's nice. I could say the same about them, Napoli, Milan and more.
"We want to be favourites and we will try to do our best."
Juve come into Sunday's fixture on the back of a four-match winning run in Serie A, while Inter lost 3-1 at Lazio last time out in the league.
The Turin giants are also expected to be able to welcome back forward Paulo Dybala, who has been out for almost a month due to injury.
"Of course, Juventus are our historical rivals," Inzaghi said. "We will have to do well to make the match ours. They have recovered all their players, they have excellent results and we must give them great attention.
"We have always held our ground and lost only two games despite playing well, even deserving a different result.
"The progress is good, we have slowed down for a moment, but we are aware and play excellent football."
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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