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Inter Milan vs Juventus Preview: Derby d’Italia Lineups, Team News, Prediction (Ep. 465)
649 Plays7 hours ago
The Serie A matchday nine fixture between bitter rivals Inter Milan and Juventus takes place on Sunday 27 October at 18:00 CET at San Siro.
Carlo Garganese and Nima Tavallaey preview the big game. We look at the probable XIs, team news, injuries and suspensions, and break down the game tactically before offering our predictions.
This is a clip from the weekly Thursday episode of the Italian Football Podcast.
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Transcript
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Let's talk about the Derby d'Italia. It's ah the big game this Sunday between Inter and Juventus at San Sierro, 1800 local time, CUT. And it's ah well, it's a huge, huge game in the in the in the fight for the Scudetto. Inter coming to the match in. Sorry, I thought ah sorry. Is it is it being played at six?
00:00:30
Speaker
I thought it was being played at nine. I thought it was a night game. Look at that. Well, that's good to know because then I would have missed it. Thank you. Thank you for saying that. Oh, would you have missed it? Why would you? Why would you? No, because I wasn't. I didn't. Oh, you mean? Oh, right. Yeah, I thought it was at eight forty five p.m. as it always is. For me, I'm telling you to play on an eight forty five on Sunday always. Like that's when they play.
00:00:56
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know why they've they've done it. there've This Fiorentina Roma is the late game on on Sunday. i'm I'm not sure why they're doing that. But so but anyway, I mean, Inter come into this game in in an excellent form, five straight wins since the defeat to Milan in the Derby just just over a month ago. And they come on obviously that one-nil win against young boys, 93rd minute winner from Turan. Juventus come into the game off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Stuttgart where they were completely outplayed. Battered, let's be honest, and they only just only just lost though, 90 second minute winner for Stuttgart. But so yeah, not not not a very good performance at all by Juve. But still unbeaten in Serie A, only one goal conceded in Serie A and one point behind in to the table. So this is this is um and this is a massive, massive match.
00:01:43
Speaker
for the title race, also because Napoli are top of the table. They are two points ahead of Inter and three points ahead of Juventus. So whoever drops points, I mean, Napoli have a quite a quite an easy fixture, don't they? This weekend, is it? Let's share at home, is it? This this weekend um for for for Napoli. and so and So yeah, it's, yeah, so it's,
00:02:13
Speaker
whoever drops points in this game are potentially, you know, if you've entered drop points, there'll be five or six points behind Napoli. And if Vinta drop points, there'll be four or five points behind Napoli. And, you know, with Antonio Conte as the manager, it's a long way back. So, yeah, big, big game for the title race in terms of injuries and suspensions. Inter are not a full strength. They're going to be probably almost certainly without Achebe and Chalanogli from their first team players. And Carlos Augusto, who wouldn't have started, but he's out as well. And as you said earlier on in the show, the Chalanogli is back. And question marks surrounding Fertes too, who had had an ice pack to his leg as well, but there's Inter saying that you shouldn't be worried, that people shouldn't worry because blah, blah, blah, but yeah.
00:03:03
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So that's the answer. Juventus, though, are are completely decimated. um they're They're without multiple players and they're without Bremmer, of course, season over with with with an ACL injury. And then in midfield, Koop miners is almost certainly out. um Douglas Luiz is we're recording this on on Thursday, is doubtful, but we'll see, because he pulled out of the warm-up of the the match against Stuttgart, so that's to to be confirmed, well we'll see there. Nico Gonzalez is definitely out, he won't return for another 10 days at least. Milik is out as well, ah has hasn't played at all this this season.
00:03:48
Speaker
um Juventus are not in good shape. um probable teams. This is what I have down for the interoperable team. And you can tell me if I'm if i'm in incorrect here. Sommering goal, 3-5-2 formation. Pavard, D'Vry, Bastani, as the three center defenders. Damián coming in at right wing back. Fraterzi, Iffe, Pasfit, Barela, and Makatarian as the three center meds. DiMarco as the left wing back. Lautaro, Martinez, and Turan as the attackers. is that Is that what you think? No, I i think Zelinski is going to start. No, I think Zelinski,
00:04:27
Speaker
Mikitarian and Barella are going to play or potentially Aslani as well. Aslani and Barella. No, I don't think he'll start him this game. I don't think he wants to risk him. I think he needs Fratesi's energy later on in the game.
00:04:44
Speaker
um when when When that pays off, when players are tired and he comes on fresh and his dynamism can can hurt, I don't think he starts. um But I think most of that is probably right. I mean, this talk of Aslani, you know, he's had some fitness issues, but he needs to start showing who he is, if he is to stay at Inter, if he is worthy of staying at Inter.
00:05:01
Speaker
Um, and, uh, you know, I wonder if you exactly takes that risk, but Barilla, you know, and, and Zielinski, they're talking about Zielinski could perhaps be that a G-stop playing the Italian to the left, Barilla to the right. I think that's what he's going to go with. I think at that point, I think Zielinski has shown.
00:05:19
Speaker
that he deserves more playing time and he warrants it. um And when you're depleted and when you're when when you have problems in in midfield with three players, one out, two semi-injured, you need to give more chances to those who who know how to play have experience from big games. And Zielinski, Sir and Mikitarian and Barilla certainly fit that bill, all three of them.
00:05:44
Speaker
So no, I think I think it's about the balotarjo is between them, whether it's Zielinski or Oraslany. And it would be interesting to see Zielinski in the Reggia role. I think he would suit that really well. But I mean, Barilla, we know does everything well. So, you know, he can play any any position in midfield and he'll do so well. We know that.
00:06:06
Speaker
But I would like to have ba Barilla on the right of the midfield three, um because what he offers, and especially with Darmia next to him, because when he's got Darmia next to him and he's got Pavard behind him, he he can unlock them in a way that you can't when you've got Dumfries there. um And when he's playing centrally, no one else can offer that.
00:06:31
Speaker
But I mean, it's a very fluid midfield, but yeah, I'd say that's pretty much what the attack is going to be. or so the Okay, as for Juventus, Juventus 4-3-3, we're probably looking at, um or 4-2-3-1, however you want to see it. The defence, well, Diego Giorgio will be back and go after his suspension in Champions League, although some would say, how the hell can you get rid of Peri after that performance? Then the defence will be,
00:07:00
Speaker
Difficult one, I mean at the moment we're looking at Savona right back, Gatti in Kalulu at centre back, Cambiazzo at left back, but Savona's been on really, really bad form, so I don't know whether Motta looks at that and thinks, is there a way that we can change that around, maybe put Cambiazzo right back and Cabal at left back, that could be something that he could consider. I don't know, he doesn't really have many options, I mean Danilo,
00:07:27
Speaker
after his red card and he was and he's been bad all season and when he has played, yeah, is I don't think you would trust him. So at the moment we're probably looking at he's forced to play Savona right back and then Gatti, Calulu and Cambiasi.
00:07:42
Speaker
in midfield we're looking at at the moment if if we take like the three central midfielders we're looking at Mckinney excuse me sneeze good timing Mckinney bless him Lucatelli and Taran but the Balotaggio again the main balotaggio for for Juventus will be uh Lucatelli will definitely start and then the Bellatadio will be Fagioli. Will he play instead of one of Mckenny or Taram? So it's basically going to be, it's going to be Locatelli plus two of Mckenny, Taram and Fagioli. That's what it's going to be. So I think it's going to be Locatelli. I think it's going to be Locatelli, I think it's going to be Taram and I think it's going to be Mckenny.
00:08:32
Speaker
um because I think Thiago Motta wants to neutralize Inte's midfield and he wants intensity and Mckenny is good, if anything, he's good at chasing the life out of his opponent. He's he's a difficult, he always causes problems for Inter when you've an Inter play because of his dynamism. And Locatelli is a very dynamic player. yeah Yeah, that's that and then the attack picks itself, because Juventus have no other options, so it will be Yielders on the left, Consti so on the right, and Blau which are front of them, no one else. So yeah, that that's that. um I mean, Juventus, yeah, Juventus don't go into this game with many options, unfortunately, and they they have nothing on the bench as well. We've got no no attackers on the bench to bring on. um They might have one midfielder that can come on and and and kind of change things. And yeah, it's,
00:09:25
Speaker
is Early on in the week, I i was kind of more hopeful that, that you know if I'm talking from the Juventus point of view, that the Juventus could come here and and you know ah draw get a draw. But now I'm looking at the physical condition of the team in the last two games. Even against Lazio, I thought, physically, Juventus didn't look particularly great, but they weren't.
00:09:43
Speaker
tested because because ah certainly going the other way because Laxio were down to 10 men for pretty much the whole game. But physically, I think Juventus are going into this game really not in very good shape and they look tired and because they've got so they've got so few options, hardly any of these players have been able to be rested or rotated and they just have no no one and they have no bench to to to to kind of change the game. so Yeah, mike I've gone from being kind of hopeful that, yeah, a draw to to now being kind of like, well, I think any Juventus fan takes a draw right now in this game. So, yeah. I think this is a difficult game to preview. I think it's a very difficult game to preview because on the one hand, you have a Juventus who are very solid defensively in the Serie A.
00:10:32
Speaker
but the we saw against Stuttgart that they were not, they were anything but. You have an Inter who are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League, setting a new club record for the first time, opening three Champions League games, they haven't conceded a goal.
00:10:50
Speaker
whilst having problems in the Serie A, but of course the last the last game against Roma, they showed improvement. But it's also an in Inter who feel... theyre they don't This is not the same Inter as last year. There's no fluidity about them. The pre-season work rate, they're still recovering from that, lots of injuries, they look sluggish.
00:11:12
Speaker
they, you know, they rely more on individual brilliance to resolve games more than systematically resolving them like they did throughout all of last season, or at least in the beginning part of it. And then you have a Juventus who are also structurally sound defensively, but they they also, there are patterns of play going forward, but it's still not really 100%. I think it's a very, very difficult game to analyze. I think Draw is That's pretty much where I am with this. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends in a goalless draw, where basically they look at this and go, hmm, match day nine. Okay, Canapoli can go four or five points ahead of us. That's fine. Let's not give too much away. We can make up four or five points with 30, 29, 30 games. Do you see what I'm saying? Like this kind of typical kind of calculation that they just,
00:12:07
Speaker
you know i would i would have i would have predicted I would have predicted the draw a few days ago, or even before the Lazio game, I would have predicted the draw. But but now, having seen Juventus physically, their shape and the the options as well, because of so many injuries, um I think it's going to be difficult for Juventus. And I think if I'm into it,
00:12:35
Speaker
I look at Juventus being there for the taking, like physically, and and I go for the win. I absolutely go for the win in this game. I don't settle for for a draw. Juventus' hope, I think, is that um if we if we ignore the last game against Stuttgart is that generally this season they've always controlled the games and the the hope is that the Tiago Motters kind of patterns of play um can kind of they can refine that and try and control this game in which case they won't be so vulnerable and that is probably my maybe I've my biggest criticism of
00:13:15
Speaker
of Inter so far this season, as I've never felt following on from what you've said, I've never felt like they've really been controlling games in the midfield. I actually think in the midfielders may be being the weakest area of Inter's team this season. they don't They don't seem to have been controlling the games. So um um my hope you know from the Juventus point of view is that if Mota can you know Even though Juventus are clearly vulnerable um physically, if they can try and control this game in the middle of the pitch, then that way they can they can they can they can be in this game and and and maybe you know at least get a draw. So that's I think that's what Juventus have got to try and hope for in this in this match.
00:13:54
Speaker
I think I've seen some reports suggesting that Koop Miners and Gonzalez could be back as well. But I mean, it's, it's you know, we'll see, we'll know on Sunday. But... Gonzalez definitely is out. Koop Miners, there's a very slim chance that maybe they could pi put him a protective cast around his his his ribs and his chest to protect him. I don't know how possible that is. um Or whether they played the long game and they say, look, you know what? We don't want to risk losing him for a long time. um So we wellll we'll would leave him out. But so but yeah.
00:14:24
Speaker
yeah Yeah. Even if he does play, he's he's going to be playing unfit, and basically. Yeah. No, it's, um, yeah, for sure. Well, I mean, I still think I look at this and I feel like there's question marks around both of them. And that's what makes this game so difficult to preview. I think tactically and, uh, and from, uh, whatever happens in it, there's going to be one winner. There's one guaranteed winner out of this game, whatever happens in this match. That's Napoli. Napoli, big winner. who i want to draw They would love a draw. but Yeah. No, no. I want to caveat that potentially only one winner.
00:14:59
Speaker
because Napoli got has have got to do the job against lecture at home and we saw against Empoli that maybe this initial traditional conte buzz is wearing off and they're going into that period where It's not, you know, that they might struggle. That always happens possibly eight, nine games deep into content in the beginning. But because because the contest teams really kick into gear from like November, December onwards, then they usually like December on with January.
00:15:30
Speaker
But we'll see but so potentially but we also saw let's say we also saw let's say loose could see six goals fur Yeah, let's share a mess. Yeah. Yeah, let's share a mess. That's true I mean they they are playing they are playing the ideal opponent who is who are in an absolute mess lecture But we'll see but yeah potentially now there's only one winner in in this Napoli for sure