Inter Milan vs Juventus

Inter Milan appear to be back on track in their quest for a 3^rd straight Serie A title as they return home to host Juventus in yet another addition of Italy’s oldest derby at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza at San Siro. Inter were able to gain ground on 2^nd place AS Roma despite not winning their last match, while Juventus will be playing away from home for the 2^nd time in 4 days.

The neroazzurri come into week 30 of Serie A in 1^st place of the league table with 68 points for the year. Their last match saw Inter hold out for a 1-1 draw away to Genoa at Marassi and coupled with Roma’s loss to Lazio in their own derby allows Roberto Mancini’s squad to stretch their lead to 7 points over Roma. Inter Milan have now posted 2 victories, 2 draws and 1 loss over their last 5. The pressure remains on them however, as a slip up against Juve coupled with a Roma win this round would see that advantage drop right back to 4 points. The injured list for Mancini for this match consists of the usual names- Dacourt, Samuel, Cordoba, Cesar and Stankovic while Pele will sit out due to suspension. The good news is that Julio Cruz will be available off of the bench while Marco Materazzi returns from suspension.

Juventus are in 3^rd place of the league table as they prepare to take on Inter. They have 55 points which leaves them 5 up on 4^th place Fiorentina and 6 back of 2^nd place Roma. On Wednesday they played to a 0-0 draw at the Carlo Castellani against Empoli. It was the 3^rd straight game in which Juve have kept a clean sheet and the 4^th one in their last 5 matches. They have 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss over that stretch. Claudio Ranieri’s side will not be able to count on Andrade, Marchionni or Zanetti this week. However, Nedved, Camoranesi, Alex Del Piero and Trezeguet all look set to start as the vecchia signora will be starting as close to their top side as possible in the derby.

This derby promises to be just as hotly contested as all the prior editions. Inter have had the better of Juve of late with 5 wins and 3 draws in the last 10 dating back to 2003. The clubs have met 3 times this season. They drew 1-1 back in November for the league, then drew again 2-2 at the San Siro for the Coppa Italia before Inter pulled off a 2-3 win at Juventus in the return leg. This week could very well see both clubs repeat what transpired during the first match at the San Siro.

Prediction: Draw (1-1)