Inter Milan aiming to destabilise Juventus in Derby d’Italia
League leaders and current Serie A champions Juventus, odds-on at 4/9 for victory with Coral, take on eternal foes Inter Milan in one of the most eagerly awaited clashes in the Italian football calendar.
The Old Lady have been defeated just once in the last eight Derby d’Italia duels, as their ascension has coincided with the Nerazzurri’s fall from grace.
Massimo Allegri’s men still top the league table, but Roma are gaining ground after Juve endured a dismal December, picking up just three points from nine and losing a Supercoppa spot-kick shoot-out to Napoli.
The Old Lady still boast a formidable home record, however, having won 25 of their past 26 games on Turin turf. Juve downed visitors Inter 3-1 last term and are 12/1 to repeat that feat again.
Victory is essential for Allegri’s side to overcome their festive wobble and begin the New Year as they mean to go on.
There would be no sweeter way for the hosts to celebrate than by downing their bitter rivals, and leading scorer Carlos Tevez is 7/2 to fire home first and help them on the way after grabbing three goals in his last two games.
Allegri will have a tough choice over whether to pair main man Tevez with experienced Basque striker Fernando Llorente or exciting summer signing Alvaro Morata, who are both available at 6/5 in the anytime market.
It is Arturo Vidal (5/1 to close the scoring) that the Nerazzurri should beware of, however, as the Chile superstar has put three past the visitors in his last four outings against them.
As for Inter, the San Siro side are still struggling for form and balance, despite former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini returning to take over the mantle.
The Nerazzurri may be sitting in lowly 11th place, but the league is tight, so an assault on a coveted top four spot is certainly still possible.
Mancini’s men have well documented problems in defence, having conceded 25 Serie A goals so far, so their best bet will be to try and outscore Juve’s fearsome frontmen.
Inter, 7/1 to win or 3/1 to split the spoils, have plenty of firepower at their disposal and have netted 25 times in 16 league games.
In-form Argentina international Mauro Icardi is 11/4 to strike anytime after scoring 12 across all competitions, whilst Lukas Podolski is 10/3 in the same market to potentially mark his debut with a goal if signed in time to face the Old Lady.
Neither the Nerazzurri or Juventus are at their best in this moment, but form goes out of the window in the fiesty atmosphere of the Derby d’Italia, so expect goals galore and back both teams to score in both halves at a sensational 16/1.
