Inter Milan vs Juventus: Match Preview & Prediction

We knew that Juventus’ post-October international break slate of games was not going to be very simple. That’s not just because it’s a whole lot of fixtures within a 22-day period that doesn’t allow for much rest at all for a squad that is already shorthanded due to injuries. But when you’ve got a tough Champions League fixture — one that, as we now know, did not go very well at all — sandwiched in between two very important league matchups, the second of which being the biggest of them all.

Through the first two of those games, there hasn’t been a whole lot to write home about for Thiago Motta’s squad. Well, technically there has, but it’s not like it’s been all that positive.

So, as the Serie A schedule proves to be the gift that keeps on giving, here comes Juventus’ most-hated rival on the fixture list. And one that, with Motta now in charge in Turin, adds another layer onto a rivalry that is like a never-ending Russian nesting doll of storylines.

Sure, the 42-year-old Motta has managed against Inter Milan before, but he’s never managed this game against the club he won the Champions League with during his playing days as the head man at Juventus. Sunday night at the San Siro will be Motta’s first Derby d’Italia on the Juventus side of the equation, with quite some heated moments from his playing days in Milan will certainly come to the forefront of a lot of the talk surrounding these two teams that enter the weekend as the top two teams trailing league-leading Napoli. (Who just so happens to have his own recent past with Juventus and Inter, so there’s also that to consider, I guess.)

But this will be a night in which storylines are plentiful going into the defending champions (barf) hosting their biggest rival — the simple fact that it’s Juve vs. Inter, Motta’s first time at the San Siro as Juve manager, the first Thuram Derby between Khephren and Marcus in Serie A. And the biggest one, at least from Juventus’ point of view, could very well be how the Bianconeri can snap out of their funk ever since their wild comeback win over RB Leipzig 3 ¹⁄₂ weeks ago.

Ever since that win in Leipzig on Oct. 2, Juve have drawn against Cagliari, barely beaten 10-man Lazio and then looked not very good in suffering their first loss of the season — on their home field, no less — when Stuttgart finally found a breakthrough in second-half stoppage time this past Tuesday night. Things have not been great, and now Juve has to go into a 76,000-seat cauldron that will be more than just a little fired up to try help in extending their hated rival’s recent struggles.

Both Juve and Inter are dealing with their own injury situations. You can probably say that Juve’s injury situation is worse knowing that they’re without their best defender, their top summer signing as well as one of their best options out wide amongst others. Inter will also be without a couple of important pieces, most notably midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who left Inter’s win over Roma with an injury and has yet to recover.

Those injury issues for Juventus aren’t new outside of the absence of Douglas Luiz. They’ve been present during these first two games out of the international break. And in those two games, it’s not like Juve has looked all that great whether playing against 11 men or 10. So now, against an Inter team that hasn’t been as good defensively as they were a season ago but are still a quality defensive side, Juve will have to try and do so with an attack that is still trying to click on on a much more consistent basis.

At least Juve’s been strong defensively, right?

That Juve defense, too, will be tested considering the form that Marcus Thuram is in and the fact that Lautaro Martinez is always a huge threat to score even if he hasn’t started this season all that well as compared to 12 months ago.

We’ve seen a lot of big tests for this Juventus side during Motta’s first 2 ¹⁄₂ months in charge. While Napoli are currently top of the table, this very much could be the biggest of those tests considering who it is and where it’s being played. Motta, unsurprisingly, isn’t backing down despite the players who aren’t making the trip to Milan, saying that Juve “will have to be good at implementing our style of play in the game” against Inter Sunday night.

To do that will be a big ask, but a win can go a long way in hopefully turning the tide after some very obvious October struggles.

TEAM NEWS

• Motta said at his pre-match press conference that the injury list for the trip to the San Siro is the same as what there was against Stuttgart midweek. That means Juve will be without: Gleison Bremer, Teun Koopmeiners, Nico Gonzalez, Arek Milik and Douglas Luiz, who pulled out of pre-game warmups on Tuesday due to a muscle injury.
• Also not part of the matchday squad: Juve third-choice goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio, who welcomed baby boy Isac into the world on Saturday. He is, however, set to meet up with the squad in Milan on Sunday.
• With Juventus only calling up four midfielders for the trip to Milan, Nicolo Fagioli is being tipped to start in the No. 10 spot behind Dusan Vlahovic if Motta rolls with a 4-2-3-1.
• Although, when asked about Kenan Yildiz potentially playing in the hole rather than out wide where he’s been much of the season, Motta quipped ““He could play there, why not?”
• Regarding how he’s approaching things after Juve suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday, Motta said “Stuttgart is in the past, and we go to play against Inter.”
• The key for Motta against Inter? “We must face Inter with courage and determination,” he said.
• Even though Michele Di Gregorio is expected to come back into the starting lineup after being suspended midweek, Motta said that Mattia Perin “could play” after his standout performance against Stuttgart.
• We don’t usually mention who the referee is in previews around here, but it deserves mention this time around. Marco Guida will be in charge of the proceedings. That’s the same Marco Guida who officiated Lille’s 3-1 win over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League and handed the French side a quite controversial penalty that had Diego Simeone saying the 43-year-old Italian was “hallucinating” at the time of the decision.

JUVENTUS PLAYER TO WATCH

Kenan Yildiz announced his arrival at the Champions League level with one of the best goals that any Juventus player will score this season.

Since then, though, things have not exactly gone very well. And with the current state of Juve’s attack being what it is due to injuries and ineffectiveness, breaking out of the slump would certainly be nice, wouldn’t it?

Photo: Getty Images

In his last six games for Juventus in all competitions, YIldiz has not recorded a goal or an assist. At times he has looked dangerous, while other times he has looked a little out of sorts and potentially pressing a little too much to try and get things going again. Ever since his wonderstrike against PSV Eindhoven to recored Juve’s first goal of the season in Europe, things just haven’t been all that great for one of Motta’s most important players.

Is he tired?

Is he pressing?

Is it a little bit of both?

According to Motta, things are all good with Yildiz no matter how things look from the outside.

“Yildiz is feeling good, he needs to improve in every aspect of the game, like everyone else,” Motta said during Saturday’s pre-match press conference. “He has to be connected to the team in every moment, starting from the defensive phase. He’s a youngster but already a great player that we must use in the best way, both as a winger and as a midfielder.”

Despite still being months away from leaving his teens, Yildiz is very much aware of the fact of what wearing his new kit number means. And it was that goal against PSV that showed what kind of talent he is and that he can be a big part of this club’s future.

But there’s also a simple fact that Juve are asking a lot of him despite his inexperience. He’s played the third-most amount of minutes this season, behind just Dusan Vlahovic and Andrea Cambiaso. As much as he likes to drift out wide to the left, it’s still not totally certain that the left wing is the best position for him to be at full time going forward.

It’s obvious, though, that no matter if Yildiz is played out wide on the left or in the hole, his contributions are going to go a long way in Juventus having a good day or a bad day against their most-hated rival. He’s spoken about wanting to score a goal against Inter at the San Siro like his idol Alessandro Del Piero has done, so now seems like a pretty good time to break out of his slump and make that happen.

It certainly would go a long way in easing some of the heat that has (fairly or unfairly) come his way in recent games.

Prediction: Inter 2 – 2 Juventus

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