Inter Milan vs Juventus: Match Preview

Inter’s 3-1 win over Sheriff Tiraspol was a welcome sigh of relief. The Nerazzurri finally took care of business in the Champions League relatively smoothly and remain in the mix for the knockout stage. But Simone Inzaghi’s men get no time to relax. Inter host Juventus Sunday evening in the first Derby d’Italia of the season and look to avoid consecutive league defeats for the first time since the 2019/20 campaign (against Lazio and Juve, interestingly enough).

Photo by MB Media/Getty Images

The bianconeri continued its coaching merry-go-round over the summer, sacking Andrea Pirlo in favor of Massimiliano Allegri’s return to the Allianz Stadium. His tenure got off to a rocky start with a draw against Udinese and defeat to Empoli and Napoli, but Juve have steadied the ship since. The Old Lady is unbeaten in eight and dropped points in that span just once (a respectable draw with Milan). The signs of AllegriBall are becoming more and more prevalent as the season progresses. Juventus has won four straight by a 1-0 scoreline, shutting out everyone from Chelsea to Roma. The bianconeri’s attack hasn’t been firing at all cylinders but it doesn’t need to when it's so difficult to put the ball in Wojciech Szczęsny’s net. Still, Juve possesses a respectable array of firepower. Alvaro Morata (3 goals) and Federico Chiesa (2 goals, 1 assist) are tipped to star Sunday with Moise Kean (2g), Dejan Kulusevski (1g, 1a), and the recovering Paulo Dybala (3g, 2a) on the bench. Juve also has a knack for late winners and scored the winner well past the 80th minute against Torino and Zenit. Inter will have to keep its concentration sharp for all ninety minutes and avoid leaking the type of chances it did against Lazio and Sassuolo to a clinical Juve.

Previous Results

Inzaghi has never beaten an Allegri-coached team at home and has a 4W-4D-9L overall record against Juve. Inter hasn’t fared much better against the Old Lady, going 14W-21D-33L in 68 meetings (fbref).

Predicted Starting XIs

Prediction: Inter 2-1 Juventus

This is the type of game that’s going to be decided by the tightest of margins. Inter, however, will come out on top thanks to a Lautaro brace.

FORZA INTER!