Italy's top two go toe to toe in Serie A's Saturday night showdown, as Inter Milan meet Juventus in an eagerly-awaited Derby d'Italia.
The Calcio giants convene at San Siro, with Inter leading Juve by a point in the standings - and the Nerazzurri also have one game in hand.
Match preview
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Ahead of a heavyweight contest that could define the Italian title race, Inter are in superb form, with five straight wins - including two in Saudi Arabia, where they successfully defended the Supercoppa Italiana - to start 2024.
The last time the Nerazzurri won their first six games of a calendar year was some 17 years ago, but they could now match that feat by toppling their fierce rivals in the 248th Derby d'Italia.
Simone Inzaghi's side have found the net in all of their 21 top-flight fixtures this term, and by following last week's 1-0 win over Fiorentina with another goalscoring performance, they would become just the second club ever to score in 22 straight games from the start of a Serie A season - joining Juventus.
Inter, who claimed a third consecutive Supercoppa by beating Napoli last month, have had the edge over Juve in recent cup clashes and are still most pundits' favourites to top the league despite their old foes' recent resurgence.
A two-horse race for the Scudetto appears to be unfolding - with only AC Milan within range of the two main contenders, but already some way back - so the stakes could not be much higher on Sunday evening.
While Inter have been crowned champions and pipped Juventus to Coppa Italia and Supercoppa glory since the Bianconeri's relentless run of success abruptly ended three years ago, they have recently found beating them in Serie A more challenging.
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A 1-1 draw in November's reverse fixture, when goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Lautaro Martinez saw the spoils shared in Turin, left Juventus with a tally of seven points from a possible nine in their three most recent league meetings with Inter.
Victory in Milan would now take them above their old foes and back to the Serie A summit, after suffering a prolonged spell in the Nerazzurri's shadow.
Max Allegri's men will surely arrive at San Siro confident of pulling off another positive result, having posted 53 points so far: on all 10 previous occasions in which Juve have picked up as many at this stage of the season, they have always gone on to finish first.
Seven wins in eight games across all competitions have helped the Bianconeri narrow the gap to Inter and secure a place in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, though they dropped points for the first time this year in last week's 1-1 home draw with Empoli.
Arkadiusz Milik's early red card left Juve in a tight spot at the Allianz Stadium, but red-hot Vlahovic - reborn in 2024 - scored after the interval, before Tommaso Baldanzi pulled the visitors level later on.
That left Allegri waiting to become the first coach to reach the milestone of 1000 points in Serie A, but a win on Sunday would take him over the line; lifting Juventus to the pinnacle in the process.
Team News
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Simone Inzaghi, who leads Max Allegri 4-2 in terms of head-to-head Derby d'Italia wins, has no major absences to contend with this week - only ex-Juve wing-back Juan Cuadrado will be missing due to injury.
Italy internationals Francesco Acerbi and Federico Dimarco should return to the hosts' starting XI, while both Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu are back in action following suspension.
Captain and top scorer Lautaro Martinez again partners Marcus Thuram up front, having netted 19 times in as many league appearances this season: one more Serie A strike would see 'El Toro' become just the third Inter player to notch 20 goals in three consecutive campaigns.
Juve's main marksman, Dusan Vlahovic, has failed to score in seven previous games against both Milan clubs at San Siro, but the Serbian striker has rattled home five in his last three outings and is certain to start, with Arkadiusz Milik suspended.
Amid a quiet winter window at the sharp end of Serie A, Juventus signed Carlos Alcaraz on loan from Southampton, but the Argentinian midfielder should start on the bench, as Adrien Rabiot has recovered from a calf problem in time to play.
Federico Chiesa is still troubled by a muscular issue but could feature as a substitute, while fellow forward Moise Kean will not be involved after a switch to Atletico Madrid unravelled when he failed a medical.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Yildiz, Vlahovic
We say: Inter Milan 0-0 Juventus
Inter (13) and Juventus (12) have collected the most clean sheets in Serie A this season, conceded the fewest shots on target, and shipped the fewest goals. Following a tense stalemate in November's reverse match, the pair could now draw both league fixtures for the first time since 2002: caution will come first at San Siro.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
