It seemed for a while that Juventus were completely out of the title picture in Italy this year. An under-the-radar resurgence by the Bianconeri has them sitting in fourth currently with an outside shot at returning to the summit. The upcoming fixture for Juventus will have a big say on this as they host current champions, Inter Milan
A Clash for the Ages: Juventus v Inter Milan
What Has Gone Wrong With Juventus?
This promises to be a fascinating encounter between Juventus and Inter, but what has led to the former having to play catch-up? Alongside Sassuolo, they are the most in-form Italian side over the last five-game stretch, winning four and drawing one. Max Allegri’s men’s most impressive win in this streak came away at Sampdoria with the draw being in the Turin derby. It is important to remember that in and amongst this, the wily campaigner that is Unai Emery navigated Villarreal beyond Juventus in the Champions League.
When casting your eye back on the results this term, whilst not at the level one expects of the Old Lady, it doesn’t spell trouble. It used to be the case that Juventus were very hard to beat at the back though, and that is far from the case now. With fewer goals going in at one end following the departure of a certain Portuguese man and the ageing Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci being more porous, it is a recipe for disaster.
Talking of a lack of goals at one end and the problems are there for all to see. Federico Chiesa’s ACL injury is a huge blow for the side plus Paulo Dybala has had issues of his own. Alvaro Morata is a consistently good forward for Juve but hasn’t been able to do it alone. Besides American international Weston McKennie, there has been a lack of goals from midfield. The arrival of the clinical Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina has definitely helped in the final third and long may it continue for the Serb.
A Fierce Title Race Indeed
Whilst Juventus hold only an outside hope of claiming the Scudetto, Inter are firmly in the mix. The Nerazzurri have a game in hand on their city rivals who are six points clear at the top of the table and so they are in touching difference. It has been an up and down season for Inter with them once occupying the top spot before suffering a bit of a slump.
A key trio in Inter’s domestic success last time out have all moved on to pastures new. Romelu Lukaku is still struggling to find his feet back in the Premier League, Achraf Hakimi was part of a Paris Saint-Germain side that once again came up short in the Champions League and manager Antonio Conte is trying to manage the trials and tribulations that come with being at Tottenham Hotspur.
Their replacements have filled the void well with Simone Inzaghi proving to be up to the managerial task in many people’s eyes and also, Lautaro Martinez continuing to succeed even in the absence of the Belgian striker.
Inter lost Lukaku, Hakimi & Eriksen last summer, yet Simone Inzaghi has done superbly well to maintain their levels. Without Barella too, he took Klopp to the wire with a mix of aggressive pressing, top defensive organisation & some excellent play thru LFC’s press. Quality coach.
— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) March 8, 2022
Alongside the Milan duo, Napoli managed by Luciano Spalletti are in the mix. Just like with this mouth-watering clash between Juventus and Inter, Napoli have a hugely intriguing fixture of their own in which they’ll meet Gasperini’s Atalanta. After both of these games are done with, along with Milan versus Bologna, the title race may well have taken on a very different colour.
Who Could Be the Gamechangers for Juventus?
The aforementioned Vlahovic may well play a part in this game as well as in the run-in for Juventus if they are to put the pressure on the front-runners. Juve’s star striker is leading the Serie A scoring charts at the time of writing alongside the evergreen Ciro Immobile of Lazio. With Chiesa’s season-ending injury, Vlahovic has a lot of pressure on his shoulders to deliver. Vlahovic is scoring at a rate of 0.79 goals per 90 in comparison to Immobile’s rate of 0.87 per 90.
COMPARED: Ciro Immobile vs. Dušan Vlahović in Serie A this season:
◉ Goals: 21-21
◉ Shots: 91-95
◉ Shots inside box: 76-72
◉ Shots on target: 47-47
◉ xG: 19.0-16.1Who will be Capocannoniere? 👀 pic.twitter.com/uiUlW81zbB
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 30, 2022
On the other side of it, Lautaro Martinez went on a run of ten games in a row without a goal in all competitions. That was until he netted a hat-trick and also added an assist as Inzaghi’s side romped past relegation-threatened Salernitana. He then followed that up with a superb strike against Liverpool at Anfield, his side were knocked out of Europe’s elite competition. That Salernitana win was one of only two since the beginning of February. They have accumulated just two points across a possible nine against their two title rivals.
It promises to be a fascinating encounter between two huge forces in Italian football. There have been some major chapters in the Derby D’italia in recent years and this may well add to it. Who will come out on top?
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