Nick Nikolov
What: Italian Serie A
Who: Inter vs Juventus
When: Sunday 3rd October, 2010 at 19:45 UK Time
Where: San Siro, Milan, Italy
Comfortable at the Top
Champions since 2006, and the current kings of Europe, Inter’s dominance of Serie A shows no sign of stopping. Almost certainly still the best side in Italy, the Nerazzurri are already comfortably settling into first place in the standings. Under a new coach, Rafael Benitez, after Jose Mourinho was shown the door, the Spaniard entered a pressure cooker where victory was the only acceptable outcome. So far the 50-year-old appears to be on the right track, with 10 points from five games easing the transition from the current Real Madrid boss.
For Inter, the meeting with Juventus, the so-called Derby d’Italia, is about more than just picking up another three points. It is a question of pride and a game from which they never wish to come off second best. On home turf, it is also a chance to bounce back from a morale sapping 1-0 defeat to Roma last weekend; a game which had Benitez bemoaning his side’s inability to convert their chances.
What’s Going on Mr Delneri?
Juventus come into the Derby d’Italia in mixed form. While a 4-2 win over Cagliari last weekend was welcome, as was a 1-1 draw away to Manchester City in the Europa League in midweek, the truth is that Luigi Delneri’s men have conceded too many goals so far this season. The clash with Inter should be a mouth-watering affair, but the Old Lady would take a scrappy 1-0 win over a 3-3 drama filled 90 minutes.
Importantly this clash against Inter offers Juventus a chance to kickstart their season and if Delneri’s boys are to climb the table, a win over their archrivals would surely be a good place to start. Delneri believes Juventus’ draw at Manchester City could provide a solid foundation for the Inter game, commenting: "It was a good test", but adding, "now we need a continuity of performance."
Recent form
Inter:
Inter 4-0 Werder Bremen (29/09; Champions League)
Roma 1-0 Inter (25/09; Serie A)
Inter 4-0 Bari (22/09; Serie A)
Juventus:
Manchester City 1-1 Juventus (30/09; Europa League)
Juventus 4-2 Cagliari (26/09; Serie A)
Juventus 1-3 Palermo (23/09; Serie A)
Key absences
Inter: Marco Materazzi; Thiago Motta; Diego Milto (doubt); Lucio (doubt); Julio Cesar (doubt); Walter Samuel (doubt); Goran Pandev (doubt)
Juventus: Armand Traore; Gianluigi Buffon
Players to watch
Inter – Samuel Eto’o: Always a dangerous finisher, Eto’o has been unaffected by Inter’s change of coach and has picked up where he left off last season. The Cameroon striker has been amongst the goals for the Nerazzurri, with the only dark cloud on the horizon coming in the shape of repeated rumours about dressing room dislike from team-mates. If these rumours have any truth, they do not appear to be being reflected on the pitch.
Juventus – Milos Krasic: The hard working Serbian winger grabbed a hat-trick against Cagliari and has certainly made quite an impression since moving from CSKA Moscow. Quickly compared to the legendary Pavel Nedved upon his arrival in Turin, Krasic will have to turn in a Nedved-esque performance in the San Siro to help Juventus achieve a good result.
Match predictions
Inter begin the Derby d’Italia as clear favourites and that is not surprising given the squad at Benitez’s disposal. Juventus will take heart from Roma’s defeat of the reigning champions last week, proving it can be done and perhaps they are not the formidable Jose Mourinho built machine of last season. With both sides capable of conceding as well as scoring, this could have a few goals. 4-2 to Inter.
