Derby d'Italia! The Tie That Could Shape Up Inter & Juve's Season.

Popularly known as the Derby d'Italia(Derby of Italy), Inter Milan versus Juventus match-ups will always draw widespread attention in the footballing community across the globe, and even more attention this season judging by Inter's great start to the season. The Nerazzurri takes a 100% start to Serie A into Sunday's home clash against the 8-times defending Champion Juventus, the 1st of 2-league meetings that could go a long way in the Serie A title race.

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Inter Milan
Inter Milan's new found belief and purpose have not been seen since Jose Mourinho-led Inter. The manner at which they celebrate each of the 6 league victories says it all. Though just 2 points ahead of the champion Juventus, the Nerazzurri believe they can usurp the Bianconeri this season. A 6 straight league win is a statement of intent and they have shown little or no weakness with their performances in those 6 games played so far. Antonio Conte side could match the achievement of Inter Milan side of 1966/67 with a 7th straight win should they pulled a win over Juventus come Sunday.

Juventus
If there is ever any club side that is not afraid to play catch up, it would be Juventus. The Bianconeri are known for recovering from an early-season wobble to claim the Scudetto, the history books had backed that time and again. The 1966/67 Inter Milan side that won the opening 7 league matches were eventually overtaken and beaten to the league by Juventus. Roma, having won 10 opening league matches, top the Serie A for a long period in 2013/14 season but were beaten to the Scudetto by Juventus. So was Napoli beaten to the league by the Old Ladies in 2016/17, it could be recalled that Napoli won their opening 7 league matches that season.

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H2H
Juventus(W3, D2, L1) has dominated the Serie A for the past 8 seasons, no surprises that the hold the better head-to-head results in the past 6 league meetings with 3 wins, 2 draws and a defeat. Inter Milan's(W1, D2, L3) sole league win in the past 3 seasons came in a 2-1 win in September 2016.

Tactics
Having started top striker Romelu Lukaku from the bench in Inter's last league victory, Inter Boss Conte will have a refreshed Lukaku to call on, however, Lukaku's teammate Alexis Sanchez won't feature due to the marching order he received in the last match. Conte will most likely stick to his 3-5-2 formation, a compact midfield to frustrate Juventus's flow of play. Box-to-box Stefano Sesi, also on 3 goals like Lukaku will be crucial to Inter's play.

Juventus manager Mauricio Sarri seems to prefer a 4-4-2 diamond formation, a tactics deploy to suit Welsh midfielder, Aaron Ramsey, playing behind the 2 frontmen. Sarri hasn't figured out his best frontline combination, a Ronaldo-Higuain partnership or a Ronaldo-Dybala duo, a lot of football analyst believe the latter partnership isn't just working as much as it should.

Prediction
It would have been convenient to call a Juventus straight win judging by the H2H stats but the Old Ladies haven't gotten into their 100% stride yet. A draw should be connected for both manager, a win for Inter, however, will be a cherry on the cake for Conte and will certainly send shock waves into the league and fear into the rest of Serie A teams. A score draw; 1-1 or 2-2

Cross-published @Scorum

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