A Saturday to scream. Which can revive the hopes of Juventus and Lazio, but also send Atalanta and Milan definitively into orbit. The advances of the 37th day are nothing short of luxury: Inter-Juventus (18 pm) e Roma-Lazio (20.45) preceded at 15 by Genoa-Atalanta, as well as representing some of the oldest rivalries in our football, they can really decide the final standings. This is especially true for the match in Turin, given that the bianconeri are closer to the Champions League area than the biancocelesti, but also the Roman derby number 178 (156 in Serie A) can have rather interesting implications.
But let's start with Juventus-Inter, called the "Derby d'Italia" by the great Gianni Brera: today's match will be the 241st match in history, between two teams that have sensationally exchanged destinies. Indeed, after 9 years of Juventus triumphs, the Nerazzurri will present themselves as champions, with the perfidious mission of taking away from their all-time rivals the last Champions League hopes.
Juve only have one result available, namely victory, and even that might not be enough if Atalanta, Milan and Napoli were to do the same: a draw or a success for Inter, on the other hand, would really close the game, a scenario that tickles little Antonio Conte, which after the scudetto would completely complete his revenge on Agnelli. "I know him well, I know he will have prepared this match in the best possible way, which is important not only for us but also for them, to show that they are the Italian champions - he confirmed Pirlo -. They won the Scudetto and the others lost it, including Juve, the reasons are always linked to a set of things. Congratulations to them, but we could have done better. Motivation must be something that makes us burn, seeing the new Italian champions must give us something extra: we must have a great desire to win the match”. Of which, to tell the truth, little has been said, partly due to objective lack of time (the midweek shift has just finished), a lot due to everything that happened off the field, on both sides. Both clubs are grappling with economic problems, with Inter asking (and not being granted) to postpone two salaries (in addition to previously unpaid ones), compared to Juve's four (from March to June, still not the answer is known): to all this, then, was added the quarrel between Conte and Lautaro (later returned with a lot of fake boxing match on the fields of Appiano) and the night dinner of Lukaku, Perisic, Hakimi and Young, fined by the carabinieri for violating the curfew.
A beautiful chaos, in short, which however will not affect today's show, always guaranteed by the black and whites, especially when the points are decisive. Pirlo has an Italian Cup final just around the corner (Wednesday in Reggio Emilia with Atalanta), but he certainly can't afford calculations, so he will opt for the best 4-4-2 possible with Szczesny in goal, Danilo, De Ligt, Chiellini and Alex Sandro in defense, Cuadrado, Bentancur, Rabiot and Chiesa in midfield, Dybala and Ronaldo in attack. Even Conte, once again absent at the press conference, will therefore respond with the typical formation 3-5-2 with Handanovic between the posts, Skriniar, De Vrij and Bastoni in the backline, Hakimi, Barella, Brozovic, Eriksen and Darmian in the midfield, Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez as an offensive couple. In the evening, however, the spotlights will move to the Olimpico, where the derby between Rome and Lazio will take place. Above all, it is the Biancocelesti who have pressure in the standings, but woe to think of the Giallorossi as mere sparring partners: whoever makes this mistake is obviously not very familiar with the Capital and its fans. However, it is clear that, beyond the motivations, it is the team of Inzaghi starting with the underdogs, given that his path, especially in recent times, has been decidedly more productive than that of his rivals. The hopes of the Champions League, kept alive by the victory over Parma on Wednesday, are reduced, but Lazio, who are still missing the match against Turin (they recover on Tuesday), want to try until the end.
“We still believe in the Champions League, but we know it's a heartfelt match regardless – commented Inzaghi -. I will ask the boys for humility and determination, as in all the rest of the second round". The coach will rely on the canonical 3-5-2 with Reina in goal, Marusic, Acerbi and Radu in defense, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto and Lulic in midfield, Correa and Immobile in attack. On the Rome front, however, there is little to ask from the standings, also because the seventh place he leads in the Conference League does not inflame anyone at all. There desire to win the derby instead, thus causing Lazio to lose the Champions train, it can be an important driving force, especially since the 0-3 of the first leg still burns a lot.
"In the last few games we have always put high pressure on the first bearer and the team hasn't been very balanced, conceding counter-attacks - he explained Fonseca -. This time, however, we have prepared it with the aim of not letting Lazio restart, they can be very dangerous at speed". Space therefore for the 4-2-3-1 with Fuzato between the posts, Karsdorp, Mancini, Ibanez and Bruno Peres in the back department, Cristante and Villar in the midfield, Pellegrini, Mkhitaryan and El Shaarawy behind the lone striker Dzeko. In front of the TV, obviously, there will be José Mourinho, who met the Friedkins in London this week to plan the next season: winning the derby, albeit indirectly, can help him too. But the most interested spectators of this Serie A Saturday will be above all Atalanta and Milan, who in the event of a 2 in Turin and 1X in Rome would celebrate the Champions League without even playing, thus transforming the matches with Genoa and Cagliari into simple catwalks.
