Inter V Juventus: Derby d’Italia Preview

Week 13 in Serie A brings forth one of the most anticipated fixtures in Italian football—the Derby d’Italia. The rivalry between Inter and Juventus is old and traditional but it has grown more fierce in recent years fired by the aftermaths of Calciopoli.

Juventus are only three points adrift of leaders Inter ahead of Saturday night’s fixture and it looks to be a promising game as both sides lock horns at the mighty Guiseppe Meazza.

Inter haven’t beaten Juventus on home soil since 2004 and last season’s corresponding fixture ended with a surprising 2-1 win for the Old Lady of Turin, any chance of a repeat?

INTER

Last week’s showdown by Ibrahimovic showed yet again the dependency on which Inter have on their creative force. Both goals were crackers and the latter clocked at a notable 124km/h, leaving no chance for Fontana in the Palermo goal.

The forward also picked up the Swedish Golden Ball on Monday for the third time in his career—making the forward historic, being the first Swedish player to achieve the feat.

Inter’s home-record at the Guiseppe Meazza this season reads narrow and unspectacular wins by the odd goal, with the exception being the goalless draw against Genoa. The spectacular wins have all come on away trips.

After several games in the recent past with multiple conceded goals and last minute winners, the Nerazzuri have now collected two consecutive wins with clean sheets.

Scrutinized for their laborious style of play lately, Mourinho’s squad still holds immense depth and dimension—something that could be fundamental in their quest for another league title and their bid for the Champions League.

Rivas and Chivu are sidelined with injuries while Cordoba will be sitting out his ban. Quaresma was given time off during the Palermo game due to poor form and the Portuguese winger is highly unlikely to feature in this weekend’s high profile clash.

Adriano missed out on the action during the weekend due to the flu and is unlikely to be handed a starting shirt. Cruz on the other hand is in fine form and not to mention, notorious for netting against the Old Lady. Can he put one away against Juventus once more?

Mourinho has hinted for a change in formation to take on Ranieri’s 4-4-2 system with a 4-1-3-2 of his own. A win for the Nerazzuri would increase the gap to third-place Juventus and keep their city rivals AC Milan at bay. 

Keep an eye on: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Sweden international has a reputation of being anonymous in big games and is facing an in-form Chiellini. Whether or not Ibrahimovic gives a notable performance against his old team-mates remain to be seen.

Probable XI: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Burdisso, Samuel, Maxwell; Cambiasso; Vieira, Muntari, Zanetti; Ibrahimovic, Cruz

JUVENTUS

After shaking off the early crisis Juventus comes into the game with an impressive seven wins on the trot, with an injury plagued troop not to be forgotten. Although confidence is high the players’ attitudes remain wary.

The Bianconeri won their latest outing with a convincing performance and a  4-1 victory after goals from Grygera, Amauri, and Iaquinta rounded up by an own goal courtesy Papastathopoulos. The scoreline didn’t do justice to Genoa who fought hard and long but were unable to trouble the Juventus defense until Milito converted a penalty kick.

The injured players are returning back to Ranieri’s disposal one by one. The players who have been given the chance substituting, have risen to the challenge and although Juventus may not carry the same qualities in their squad in comparison to their opponents, the Bianconeri players make it up with hard work and iron will.

The list of injured players is still alarmingly high as Buffon, Salihamidzic, Knezevic, Zebina, Andrade, Zanetti along with Poulsen, who picked up another injury during Thursday’s training after just recovering, could mean Ranieri opts for Tiago to grab a starting shirt.

Good news for the Juventus tactician and all Bianconeri supporters is that Trezeguet has recovered ahead of time and the Frenchman will return to normal training on Monday.

Is an eighth consecutive win on the cards? A positive result would see Juventus sail up on equal points with the reigning champions in one of the most exciting seasons of Serie A in recent memory.

Keep an eye on: Del Piero. Il Capitano may have left the field scoreless against Genoa but, at 34, is in the shape of his life and could very well trouble Julio Cesar in the Inter goal with one of his trademark free kicks.

Probable XI: Manninger; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Molinaro; Camoranesi, Sissoko, Tiago, Nedved; Amauri, Del Piero