Inter Milan head into Sunday’s highly anticipated clash against Juventus on a high after a dramatic last-minute win at Young Boys in the Champions League. Meanwhile, Juventus are grappling with form under new coach Thiago Motta, adding pressure to their Serie A title campaign.
Inter are just two points behind league leaders Napoli ahead of what is traditionally one of the biggest fixtures of their season—a rivalry steeped in more intensity than even the Milan derby. Currently, they sit one point ahead of third-placed Juve in the standings.
However, Inter’s growing injury list is a concern for coach Simone Inzaghi. Key players Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Acerbi were sidelined with thigh injuries last weekend, and Carlos Augusto joined them after pulling up during Wednesday’s 1-0 victory in Switzerland. Inzaghi had to call on his star players when second-choice forwards Marko Arnautovic and Mehdi Taremi struggled. Arnautovic’s missed penalty only highlighted the difference made by Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram when they came on.
With a congested schedule ahead, Inzaghi will need his squad to step up, but Juventus have their own issues to contend with. Juve suffered their first defeat of the season midweek, losing to Stuttgart in stoppage time after a poor display. Only the heroics of goalkeeper Mattia Perin, who saved a late penalty, prevented a more lopsided scoreline.
Thiago Motta’s side is also dealing with a series of injuries, with Douglas Luiz, signed for over €50 million this summer, failing to impress before succumbing to a thigh problem. Juve’s creative and attacking woes are compounded by the continued absence of Nicolas Gonzalez and Teun Koopmeiners, the latter being a significant miss in their midfield.
Both teams are under pressure to win to keep pace with Napoli, who play Lecce on Saturday. Napoli, fresh from a full week of preparation, are favourites against a Lecce side without a win in five matches, including a 6-0 thrashing by Fiorentina.
Napoli have rebounded strongly since their opening-day defeat to Verona, winning six of their last seven league games. Despite the absence of Stanislav Lobotka due to a thigh injury, midfielder Billy Gilmour will be looking to build on his shaky debut in last weekend’s narrow win at Empoli.
Once AC Milan’s star player, Rafael Leao is struggling under coach Paulo Fonseca. His recent form has left fans frustrated, and reports of ill-discipline haven’t helped. Leao was left out of last weekend’s match against Udinese and was subbed off during Milan’s 3-1 win over Club Brugge in the Champions League.
Moments after his substitution, Milan took the lead, with Samuel Chukwueze setting up Tijjani Reijnders for the third goal. Leao is expected to start against Bologna, but he’ll need to improve to help Milan close the gap in the top four.