Last lap before the break. The championship, which started again yesterday with a 1-1 draw between Cagliari and Venice, offers us a very interesting seventh day, starting with today's advances Turin-Juventus (18 pm) and Sassuolo-Inter (20.45). The derby della Mole is undoubtedly this Saturday's cartel match, also because the grenades, after two seasons of suffering, will face it with much more certainty than usual. The Juric cure, net of the points thrown away from Venice, is working and the Bull has every intention of creating problems for the Lady, in turn regenerated by the very important success against Chelsea. The derby exam is perhaps the most delicate for Allegri, because passing it would mean having definitively overcome the crisis, vice versa instead the climate would become heavy again, all the more so with two weeks of rest ahead.
“It will be a good game, we have to give the standings another tap to fix it and the Derby della Mole with the return of the fans is the perfect occasion – explained Allegri -. Juric embodies a lot with the Toro spirit, he's doing a great job. It will be a complicated match, you will need patience, Torino are the team that has conceded the fewest shots to their opponents, when they slow down the pace a bit they always do things right". Wednesday's victory gave Juve a new shine, but above all to him, praised by critics and fans for the tactical moves that wrapped up the European champions. Above all the advancement of Chiesa in attack, a choice that decided the match and which now, in light of the absences of Dybala and Morata, appears as the panacea for Juventus' ills. “But this will be a different match, they play man against man and we will have to be good at creating spaces for ourselves – the Juventus coach pointed out -. On paper we have 5 points less than expected, you have to recover them at every step. In addition, let's try to bring home a victory to get through the break better, let's take advantage of the positive energy of the moment”.
If trust reigns at Juve, the same can be said of Toro, convinced that he has found the right leader after years of roller coasters. “Our opponent has absolute value and has rediscovered results and spirit, but we trained with the right intensity, as always – Juric's words -. I know that the technical levels on the pitch are different, but Toro is the team from Turin, I perceive this." The dialectical skirmishes will now leave room for the field, where there is a lot of curiosity especially for Allegri's choices, who are very tight-lipped on the subject of training. The only certainty seems to be represented by the game system, a 4-4-2 with Szczesny in goal, Danilo, De Ligt, Chiellini and Alex Sandro in defense, Cuadrado, Bentancur, Locatelli and Rabiot in midfield, Kean and Chiesa in attack. The grenade will respond with a 3-4-2-1 with Milinkovic-Savic in goal, Zima, Bremer and Rodriguez in the back, Singo, Lukic, Mandragora and Aina in the midfield, Linetty and Brekalo behind the lone striker Sanabria.
In the evening, however, it will be Inter's turn, awaiting the away match in Reggio Emilia against Dionisi's Sassuolo. Game to win for Inzaghi's men, eager to get back on track after draws with Atalanta and Shakhtar, still quite positive in terms of play. now though, with Napoli leading by 4 points and the direct confrontation between the players from Bergamo and Milan, it is appropriate to take the full prize, also because the Emilians, despite the success against Salernitana, are still very far from last year's levels. It was precisely in this stadium that Conte's ride towards the Scudetto started: from that 0-3 on November 28, in fact, an almost clear path began that led to the coveted tricolor. “So far we have played six very good league games, even if we are missing those 2 points that we would have deserved between Sampdoria and Atalanta – Inzaghi's analysis -. I'm a little disappointed because I would have liked to have had more than one point in the Champions League given all the opportunities, but we'll think about it when the Cup returns. Now we're only thinking about Sassuolo, we'll need the real Inter."
In a difficult week for the club (the deficit of 245,6 million is the highest ever in Serie A), the coach will look for an important victory relying on a 3-5-2 with Handanovic in goal, Skriniar, De Vrij and Bastoni in defense, Darmian, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu and Perisic in midfield, Dzeko (slight favorite over Correa) and Lautaro in attack. Usual 4-2-3-1 for Dionisi, who will respond with Consigli in goal, Muldur, Chiriches, Ferrari and Rogerio in the back, Maxime Lopez and Frattesi in the midfield, Berardi, Djuricic and Boga behind the lone striker Raspadori.
