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Inter host Juventus on the back of 11 wins and one draw. Since their defeat to Milan at San Siro three months ago, only Napoli have managed to avoid losing to the Nerazzurri. However, tonight’s clash with Juventus carries particular weight for Cristian Chivu and his men: this season they still haven’t managed to gift their fans a victory against one of the big teams in Serie A or the Champions League. In other words, they have yet to pass their “final exam.”

Inter have beaten Juventus only once in their last seven league meetings, alongside two draws and four defeats. In the previous nine matches at San Siro, the record is perfectly balanced — three wins each and three draws. Juve have recorded four wins in their last five Serie A away games, with a defeat to Cagliari, while Inter have four wins and a draw in their last five matches at the Meazza. In head-to-head matches among Serie A’s top four (Inter, Milan, Napoli, and Juve), Inter have collected by far the fewest points — just one — while the other three teams have earned seven each.

Inter boast by far the most prolific attack in Serie A with 57 goals, while Juventus are second, well behind, with 41. Still, it is worth remembering that in Italy the Scudetto is usually not won by the team that scores the most goals, but by the one that concedes the fewest. Inter’s strength lies in its compactness. Practically speaking, the Nerazzurri have only one weak spot — Luis Enrique on the right flank. Despite clear improvement, even when he delivers his best performance, he rarely earns higher than a “six.”

The biggest gap between the two sides is in attack. Put simply, apart from Yildiz, none of Juventus’ forwards — from David and Openda to Zhegrova and Conceicao — would even make Inter’s bench, let alone the starting eleven. Inter’s superiority is also evident in midfield and defense, but the beauty of football is that it is one of the few team sports where the clearly better side does not always win. Dimarco is on course to set a new record for assists in a single league season among Inter players. Federico has already registered 11 goal contributions in the form of assists, with only Barella and Calhanoglu ahead of him, having recorded 12 each in the 2021/2022 season. While Dimarco is the king of assists, Lautaro Martínez is the undisputed top scorer in Serie A with 14 goals, six more than his closest challengers — Douvikas, Højlund, and Pulisic.

Kenan Yildiz has already scored eight goals this season and could, after Roberto Bettega (who scored 13 in the 1970/71 season), become only the second Juventus player under 21 to reach double digits in a single campaign. Inter are also his favorite opponent, as he has scored three times against the Nerazzurri and added one assist. Chivu can count on everyone except Dumfries and has only two selection doubts — both concerning players who returned from injury this week: Barella and Calhanoglu. Sucic and Zielinski have adequately replaced the Italian and the Turk, giving Chivu something of a pleasant headache.

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Juventus are also missing just one player, Dusan Vlahovic, although he could be joined by Khephren Thuram. The Frenchman stopped training yesterday due to pain (bone edema) and is unlikely to make the matchday squad. Spalletti has only one real dilemma in his lineup — between Cabal and Kostic for the role of right-sided wing-back. How important the match is for Juventus is also shown by the fact that club owner John Elkann was present at Continassa during training yesterday. Elkann also held a one-on-one meeting with Spalletti. The club is very satisfied with the work of the former Italy head coach, and negotiations over a contract extension are already well underway.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 25

Friday

Pisa - Milan 1-2 (0-1)

/Loyola 71 - Loftus-Cheek 39, Modric 85/

Saturday

17.00: (1.75) Como (3.60) Fiorentina (4.90)

20.00: (3.35) Lazio (3.35) Atalanta (2.20)

22.45: (2.00) Inter (3.50) Juventus (4.10)

Sunday

14.30: (2.45) Udinese (3.10) Sassuolo (3.35)

17.00: (3.15) Cremonese (3.10) Genoa (2.55)

17.00: (2.35) Parma (3.00) Verona (3.70)

20.00: (3.35) Torino (3.40) Bologna (2.30)

22.45: (2.35) Napoli (3.10) Roma (3.30)

Monday

22.45: (2.20) Cagliari (3.15) Lecce (3.60)

***odds are subject to change***