Juve-Toro, Thiago Motta's first derby: winning it is a must. The Real Madrid effect charges Milan in Cagliari

In his first derby della Mole Thiago Motta must find the way to goal for his Juve but the Toro will defend themselves tooth and nail. In the wake of the sensational feat in Madrid, Milan is trying to defeat Cagliari to straighten out the standings but the Sardinians will not give up so easily

Last lap before the break. The big teams of Serie A return to the field for the 12th matchday, which already began with the draws of Genoa-Como e Lecce-Empoli (1-1 in both matches), waiting to stop for the national team break. It will end with a bang, it's right to say, because in addition to Inter-Napoli tomorrow there will also be the Turin derby, big match of this championship Saturday. Also pay attention to the away match of Milan to Cagliari, with the Rossoneri full of energy after the feat in Madrid: conquering the Sardinian capital would also be good for the league table, otherwise Fonseca would spend another break with regrets and controversy.

Juventus – Torino (20pm, Dazn and Sky)

The Stadium will host this Mole derby number 257 (187 in the league) with the desire to drag Juve to victory, otherwise risk losing ground on the top of the class. The three points, therefore, are almost obligatory, even if it is clear that Toro will do everything to shuffle the cards and take a derby that has been missing since the distant 2015, which becomes 1995 considering those away. The draw in Lille It left a bitter taste in the mouth, because if it is true that the Bianconeri, given the chances they had, deserved to win, it is also true that they did not succeed, limiting themselves to the seventh no-contest of the season.

The Xs on the betting slip are starting to become numerous and the reasons are many, first and foremost the difficulty in scoring goals. The numbers say that the Old Lady, with the exception of the 4-4 against Inter, struggles to break through the opponents' nets, especially when Vlahovic remains dry: Thiago Motta must find some corrections as soon as possible, waiting for the return of Nico Gonzalez (after the break) and the long-term absentee Milik. More generally, however, the black and white game is struggling to find outlets against the medium-small teams, which is why this derby is quite scary, even if Toro is certainly not going through its best moment. Vanoli, after a sparkling start, has collected only one victory in the last six games, compared to five defeats that have ruined the standings. The Granata people, increasingly angry with Cairo, dream of resurrection in the derby, while Juventus hopes to return to victory, possibly convincingly.

Thiago Motta: “Special atmosphere, the team is doing very well”

“I see the team well, in training there is the right attitude, I have good feelings – Thiago Motta's thoughts -. The atmosphere is special, we will have to give our best to play a great game. We know that the city experiences the derby very intensely, as do we. I don't live in Turin much, also by choice, but I still feel privileged because I've spent my entire career in big teams and big cities, which I continue to do today. I can't ask for anything more, this is a beautiful game to play and we will try to bring it to our side. Has Torino not won for nine years? The past counts for very little, only what happens when the referee blows the whistle. They will want to compete, we will have to try to impose our game against a team that is very dangerous on the counterattack. Physically we are very well, we had three days of recovery that were important. I trust in everyone's commitment, both those who will start and those who will come in: we will all enter the field at 200%".

Vanoli: “We will need clarity and passion! I watched the derby of '83 again…”

“We are also very well, we have had a beautiful week, knowing the importance of the match – Vanoli underlined -. There is silence, it is nice to feel the energy around the derby, the motivations find themselves. We must face Juve with clarity and passion, these are the two important words. A clear mind and a warm heart, this is the fundamental aspect, we will have to face the various moments of the match against an important opponent. I always try to convey the history of Toro to my players. I do it every day with all the people who work around us, the beauty of the week is hearing them and their emotions that we will have to bring onto the pitch. On YouTube I saw a derby that Juve was winning 2-0, that of March '83…I got emotional, I wanted to watch it because at 2-0 it was a Toro in difficulty, but that slowly reacted and went on to win. And it was fast, all in three minutes: that's what I want to show my players, reacting to the mistake, that's the beauty of a special match. I saw it, I want to make my players understand what it means".

Juventus – Torino, probable formations

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Savona, Gatti, Kalulu, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic

On the bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Danilo, Cabal, Rouhi, Gil Puche, Fagioli, McKennie, Douglas Luiz, Mbangula, Weah, Adzic

Trainer: Thiago Motta

Unavailable: Milik, Bremer, Nico Gonzalez

Disqualified: Pogba (until March 11, 2025)

Turin (3-5-2): Milinkovic-Savic; Coco, Maripan, Masina; Pedersen, Vlasic, Ricci, Ilic, Lazaro; Sanabria, Adams

On the bench: Paleari, Donnarumma, Walukiewicz, Vojvoda, Karamoh, Tameze, Dembelé, Gineitis, Sosa, Njie, Ciammaglichella, Linetty, Balcot, Gabellini

Trainer: vanilla

Unavailable: Zapata, Schuurs, Savva, Ilkhan

Disqualified: no

Cagliari – Milan (18pm, Dazn)

The championship Saturday will not only live in the shadow of the Mole. The spotlight will also be on Cagliari, where Nicola's team will host Fonseca's Milan. The Rossoneri, fresh from the feat in Madrid, have high morale, but also the obligation to repeat themselves and not make the mistakes of the post-derby. The success over Inter had given the illusion of a change of pace, but then the defeats against Fiorentina and Napoli arrived to call everything into question. The Bernabeu may have marked a turning point also because the victory, besides being very important, was above all convincing.

However, Fonseca has already made it clear that the difficulties in the championship will remain, given that his team is struggling to assert itself in the “jungle” of the province, made up of tactics and man-marking, while he is at ease in those contexts in which he can play openly. Nicola will certainly have taken notes, especially since his Cagliari would certainly not disdain a draw: the three consecutive defeats against Udinese, Bologna and Lazio require a reaction, starting from this evening. Fonseca will have to deal with post-Champions tiredness and with Morata's injury, who stopped on Thursday after a blow to the head in a (fortuitous) clash with Pavlovic. Francesco Camarda, 16 years, 7 months and 29 days, will play in his place: a strong choice (he will be preferred to the more experienced Abraham), in line with a style that is starting to bear fruit.

Fonseca: “The championship is our priority. Camarda will be a starter”

“I think it will be important to go to Cagliari with the same spirit and courage as Madrid, but also to understand that it will be a different match,” Fonseca explained. We will be another team to face the Sardinians, because it is a very important match and we will need the right attitude. I would like the team to adapt better to Italian football and understand that the championship is the priority, we must have the same courage to win matches in Serie A. Leao? He will be the starter, I used different strategies with him, maybe not all of them worked well, but I never had any problems and he accepted the situations well, having the reaction I expected. If this is the solution and the answer, maybe we will see him on the bench more often (laughs, ed.). Who will replace Morata? Camarda will play, I don't look at age but quality and he has a lot of it. At the moment he is more ready than Abraham, he seems like a 25-26 year old player in terms of maturity and how he works. I didn't have the slightest doubt about fielding him".