With both clubs lagging behind in the Serie A title race, old foes Juventus and Inter Milan battle it out for three precious points in Turin, as they contest Sunday's Derby d'Italia.
Not only did Inter beat their hosts to victory in last season's Coppa Italia final and the Supercoppa Italiana, but they are also two points ahead of an ailing Old Lady before the teams reconvene this weekend.
Match preview
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In addition to seeing their series of Scudetti halted at nine by Inter in 2021, Juventus have since been pipped to two trophies by their Milanese rivals and are failing to match them this season too - particularly in Europe.
While the Nerazzurri caused a stir by beating Barcelona to qualification for the Champions League's last 16, Juve were repeatedly humbled in Group H, in which they finished up with just three points following another defeat in midweek.
Losing for a second time to Paris Saint-Germain saw Max Allegri's men demoted to the Europa League playoffs, and they avoided ending rock-bottom in their group only due to a better head-to-head record with relative minnows Maccabi Haifa.
Yet, aided by the addition of several starlets from their primavera ranks, the Bianconeri have won each of their last three league matches without conceding a single goal, and they last managed more successive shut-outs at the end of 2018.
While injuries and a ponderous playing style have contributed to some struggles in the final third, across the top 10 European leagues so far this term, only Barcelona and Juve's Champions League conquerors Benfica have conceded fewer goals domestically - incidentally, Inter have shipped 17 so far, which is their highest tally at this stage for 11 years.
Young Nicolo Fagioli came up with a wonderful winning goal in last week's otherwise dire display against Lecce, keeping Juventus within 10 points of league leaders Napoli, but surely Allegri's transitional side can compete for a top-four finish at best this term - and they meet one of their fellow contenders on Sunday.
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Placed sixth at the conclusion of Serie A's 12th round, an improving Inter had already qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds before they were beaten 2-0 by Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Following an inconsistent start, back-to-back classics against Group C counterparts Barcelona have seemingly reignited the Nerazzurri's campaign, and they have won their last four league fixtures; scoring at least twice on each occasion.
They could now win five in a row for the first time since January, and they had also gone seven games without defeat in all competitions before losing out in Bavaria.
Last week, Inter cruised past struggling Sampdoria at San Siro, as in-form midfielder Nicolo Barella found the net in superb fashion, between strikes from Stefan de Vrij and Joaquin Correa. That capped off a month in which they also beat Sassuolo, Salernitana and - in dramatic style - Fiorentina.
Of course, the intensity steps up a notch this weekend when they travel to Turin, but Simone Inzaghi's side hold a certain psychological edge over the Old Lady at the moment, having won three and drawn one of four encounters with Juventus last season.
The most recent was a 1-0 league victory, secured by Hakan Calhanoglu's goal in April, and the Nerazzurri could now win successive Serie A matches against Juve for the first time since 2003-04 - in fact, they last won two in a calendar year back in 1987.
Team News
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Juve's hopes of reversing the recent trend in this fixture have been lifted by several returns from the club's overcrowded treatment room, as first-team stars Angel Di Maria, Bremer and Dusan Vlahovic have all recovered and are set to be available on Sunday.
Having received criticism for his displays from several quarters, the latter has regularly found the net despite his team's relative mediocrity; scoring eight goals in 15 appearances this term. However, he may only be fit enough to start on the bench.
Vlahovic is among a crop of players born since 2000 to have been involved in at least one Serie A goal for Juventus this season, with the others being Moise Kean, Nicolo Fagioli, Fabio Miretti and English winger Samuel Iling-Junior.
The latter trio, plus Argentinian prospect Matias Soule, may find themselves sidelined again, given the return of so many big names - none less than Federico Chiesa.
The long-term absentee finally made his comeback from injury as a substitute against PSG, but Paul Pogba remains out of commission and will also miss France's defence of the World Cup. Leandro Paredes and Mattia De Sciglio are still sidelined too.
Meanwhile, Inter are expected to accelerate Marcelo Brozovic's return from a thigh problem, and their midfield fulcrum could make the bench at the Allianz Stadium. Romelu Lukaku, though, has suffered another setback and misses out again.
In the Belgian's absence, Edin Dzeko is the most likely partner for Lautaro Martinez up front - the latter has scored just once in his eight Serie A games against Juve to date.
Following his strike last weekend, Nicolo Barella has scored the most goals among Serie A midfielders this season (five), and the last Inter midfielder to have tallied more in the first 12 league games of a season was Youri Djorkaeff, back in 1997.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, Bremer; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Miretti; Milik
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Onana; Skriniar, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko
We say: Juventus 1-0 Inter Milan
Both sides have finally produced some consistent results in Serie A, but find themselves off the pace at the summit of the standings. Juve are accustomed to snatching the odd goal and grinding out ugly wins, and they can pull that trick off again versus Inter, with several players returning to the squad just in time for the Derby d'Italia.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
