Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Preview: Juventus vs. Inter Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 24 November 2023, 19:58
The Serie A weekend reaches its crescendo on Sunday evening, as Juventus host Scudetto rivals Inter Milan in the Derby d'Italia - the 181st league meeting between two Italian giants.

Juve trail leaders Inter by just two points in the standings, so victory in Turin would take them above their old foes and back to the summit, after a long spell in the Nerazzurri's shadow.

Match preview

Now resuming their November schedule with perhaps the grandest date in the Calcio calendar, Juventus racked up five straight wins before the international break to pull within touching distance of top spot in Serie A.

Announcing themselves as genuine title contenders, Max Allegri's men followed victories over Torino, Milan, Verona and Fiorentina with a 2-1 success at home to Cagliari a fortnight ago, when goals from defensive duo Daniele Rugani and Bremer helped Juve seal maximum points against Allegri's old club.

Having made their best start to a season since last winning the Scudetto back in 2019-20, Sunday's Derby d'Italia will be the first time in history that Juventus and Inter face each other with at least 29 points apiece before matchday 14, and the prospect of a two-horse race has emerged following recent struggles for both Napoli and Milan.

Although the Nerazzurri have been crowned champions and pipped them to Coppa Italia and Supercoppa glory since Juventus were last top of the pile in Italy, the Bianconeri have still won five of their last eight league matches against Inter.

Indeed, they came out on top in both meetings last term, keeping a clean sheet on each occasion: the chance to post three straight wins over Inter without conceding for the first time since 1977 is, therefore, a possibility this weekend.

Such has been Juve's defensive discipline - with Allegri free to work his team hard on the training ground every week, due to their ban from UEFA competition - they will believe that streak can be achieved; however, their table-topping visitors are in no mood to take a step backwards.

Inter have won 10 of their 12 league matches this season, suffering just one shock loss to Sassuolo, and throughout their long and illustrious Serie A history they have only won 11 of the first 13 twice before: in 1950 and then 2019.

Fired by the goals of captain Lautaro Martinez, the Nerazzurri are on a run of six straight wins in all competitions ahead of their trip to Turin, with the most recent seeing Federico Dimarco's remarkable strike and a Hakan Calhanoglu spot-kick secure a 2-1 home win over promoted Frosinone.

Having previously seen off regional rivals Atalanta and then sealed their place in the Champions League's last 16 by beating RB Salzburg, Inter's star-studded squad departed for international duty on a high, so coach Simone Inzaghi will hope none of that momentum has been lost over the past fortnight.

Securing a top-two finish in Group D with two games remaining means that Inzaghi can focus fully on the Derby d'Italia, rather than having more than half an eye on next week's Champions League contest with Benfica.

Comfortably Serie A's top scorers, Inter are on course to challenge for silverware again this season, after lifting the Coppa Italia and narrowly missing out on European glory last time around - but Juventus will be keen to throw a spanner in the works this weekend.

The Nerazzurri have won just two of their last 17 away games against Juve in the league, losing on no less than 11 occasions, and have failed to score in nine. Therefore, Sunday night's heavyweight clash at the Allianz Stadium could be their toughest test yet.

Juventus Serie A form:

D

W

W

W

W

W

Inter Milan Serie A form:

W

D

W

W

W

W

Inter Milan form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

W

Advert - content below:

Team News

Juventus coach Max Allegri may have a conundrum to solve in midfield this week, as in addition to suspended pair Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli, regular starter Manuel Locatelli is struggling with a rib problem that ruled him out of Italy's Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Adrien Rabiot's return from a one-match ban is therefore timely, and the Frenchman may join Fabio Miretti and Weston McKennie in the Bianconeri's engine room.

Likely to start on the left side of Allegri's 3-5-2 formation, Filip Kostic scored his last league goal against Inter in March and has also provided an assist for three of Juve's last six Serie A strikes.

Defensive duo Mattia De Sciglio and Danilo remain unavailable, while McKennie's USA teammate Tim Weah is sidelined by a thigh injury.

Inter are also missing a pair of first-choice defenders, as both Benjamin Pavard (knee) and Alessandro Bastoni (calf) have been ruled out of Sunday's game; Stefan de Vrij and the versatile Matteo Darmian should deputise in the Nerazzurri's back three.

The visitors' attack is led by Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez, the latter of whom will become just the second Inter player in 60 years to score at least 13 goals in the first 13 matches of a season if he finds the net in Turin. However, 'El Toro' has scored just once during 676 minutes of Serie A football against Juventus to date.

Ex-Juve wing-back Juan Cuadrado (Achilles) has resumed full training so could be included on the bench by Simone Inzaghi, who leads Allegri 4-2 in terms of Derby d'Italia wins when the two bosses have gone head to head.

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Rugani; Cambiaso, McKennie, Rabiot, Miretti, Kostic; Chiesa, Kean

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Darmian, De Vrij, Acerbi; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

We say: Juventus 0-1 Inter Milan

Previews by email

Top News

13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly requested transfer information for Stuttgart defender and captain Waldemar Anton, as they look to bring in a suitable replacement for Joel Matip this summer. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bragantino will be looking to bounce back quickly from their defeat when they host Juventude at the Estadio Nabi Abi Chedid on Saturday. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly one of three teams pursuing the services of Lille centre-back Leny Yoro but have accepted that they might be facing a losing battle to tempt him away from Real Madrid. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Atlanta United FC are set to host Houston Dynamo FC at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday in a cross-conference showdown that could prove pivotal in each sides' quest to qualify for the MLS Cup. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fourth-placed New York Red Bulls are set to host ninth-placed Nasville SC at the Red Bull arena on Sunday in MLS' Eastern Conference. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is reportedly interested in signing Hoffenheim centre-forward Maximilian Beier amid ongoing uncertainty around the future of Darwin Nunez. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk It has been 24 years since France were last crowned European champions, and after coming close a couple of times under Didier Deschamps, they will feel that this year is their time to end the drought. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Making only a second major tournament appearance, Albania kick off their Euro 2024 campaign on Saturday evening, when they meet Italy in Dortmund. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Switzerland are set to make a late call on the availability of three players ahead of their Euro 2024 Group A opener against Hungary at the RheinEnergieStadion in Koln on Saturday afternoon. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is expected to start as captain for Hungary in their Euro 2024 Group A opener against Switzerland at the RheinEnergieStadion in Koln on Saturday afternoon. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Les Bleus superstar Kylian Mbappe will be determined to spearhead France's pursuit of silverware at Euro 2024, though the rapid Real Madrid attacker is just one of several jet-heeled performers hoping to blaze a trail across German pitches this summer. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Hungary and Switzerland will kick-start their Euro 2024 campaigns with a Group A encounter at the RheinEnergieStadion in Koln on Saturday afternoon. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol has said that Croatia are determined to triumph at Euro 2024 in order to properly "honour" Luka Modric and his outstanding career. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Reigning champions Italy get their Euro 2024 campaign under way on Saturday evening, when they meet Albania for their Group B opener. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Spain are allegedly set to be without the services of central defender Aymeric Laporte for their Euro 2024 opener against Croatia on Saturday evening due to a muscular problem. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Mark Bullingham, the Football Association's chief executive, has confirmed that the organisation has as "succession plan" in place for the potential departure of England manager Gareth Southgate after Euro 2024. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has expressed his pride at being a key part of a Georgia outfit that will create history during this summer's European Championship. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Crystal Palace attacker Michael Olise has reportedly reached a verbal agreement over personal terms with another Premier League club ahead of the summer transfer window. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aston Villa are reportedly interested in signing Lazio midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, who has previously worked under Unai Emery. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Premier League trio Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have all received a boost in their pursuit of Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, according to a report. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk We have provided some Euro 2024 fantasy football lineup tips for all those fantasy managers eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament in Germany. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has reportedly altered his side's striker plans for the summer transfer window after their failure to lure Benjamin Sesko away from RB Leipzig. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk While lifting the trophy on July 14 is every player's ultimate aim for Euro 2024 this summer, the goal-hungry strikers amongst them will also have their sights set on the possibility of winning the Golden Boot. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Harry Kane is hoping to make history in more ways that one when he captains Euro 2024 favourites England at this summer's tournament in Germany. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The Spain Euro squad 2008 was the start of a golden generation of superstars who won an unmatched three consecutive major tournaments between 2008-12 (Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2012). 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is allegedly struggling to attract suitable interest for the summer transfer window. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ilkay Gundogan is hopeful that Germany can 'benefit from the euphoria' of a home crowd at Euro 2024 and is "confident" they can progress deep into this summer's tournament as they bid to win their first continental trophy for nearly three decades. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has big decisions to make when it comes to his starting side for the country's Euro 2024 opener against Spain on Saturday. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona's teenage star Lamine Yamal is set to make history on Saturday, as he is expected to be in Spain's starting XI for their Euro 2024 opener against Croatia. 13 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly interested in securing a reunion with one of their former players during the summer transfer window.