Traps in sight. The tenth day begins immediately with three of the four involved in the Champions League, that is Lazio, Juventus and Inter, expected from the matches with Spezia (15 pm), Turin (18 pm) and Bologna (20.45 pm). Needless to repeat the obvious, namely that these challenges always present more pitfalls than forecasts suggest, especially with the European commitments at the door. In this sense, Juve would seem to be in the best shape, given that the trip to Barcelona is of relative importance, were it not for the fact that the derby cannot be taken lightly par excellence, even if the grenades, never like this year, are decidedly inferior. But a derby is always a derby and then the bianconeri are certainly not enchanting, as demonstrated by the sixth place in the standings, minus 6 from leaders Milan.
In short, a performance from Juve will be needed, otherwise Giampaolo's Bull could take advantage of derby number 201 (179 in the league) to turn his season around. “It's an important derby for both fans, I was lucky enough to be part of it several times, to win and score important goals – thought Pirlo -. It's always a good game to play because there are so many emotions inside, we hope to have a great match. We have to recover some strength in these last few hours after the match the other night, we prepare ourselves mentally to play an important derby, we need it to continue our path in the league”. Compared to the draw in Benevento, the Juventus coach will be able to count on Cristiano Ronaldo, who celebrated the 750th goal of his career on Wednesday.
At his side, inevitably given the disqualification of Morata, there will be Dybala, from whom everyone expects an important ring: his season, partly due to physical issues, partly due to tactical problems, hasn't taken off yet and this derby could mark a turning point, in one sense or another. Pirlo's 3-4-1-2 will thus see Szczesny in goal, De Ligt, Bonucci and Danilo in defense, Cuadrado, Arthur, Rabiot and Bernardeschi in midfield, Kulusevski in support of the offensive duo made up of Dybala and Ronaldo. Similar game system also for Giampaolo, who thanks to the absence of Lukic will abandon the 4-3-1-2 by virtue of a 3-5-2 with Sirigu between the posts, Izzo, Lyanco and Rodriguez in the back department, Singo, Meité, Rincon, Linetty and Ansaldi in the midfield, Zaza and Belotti in attack.
It should then be emphasized that, to disturb the eve of Juventus, the investigation of Perugia on the Italian exam of Suarez: the Guardia di Finanza has decided to investigate, in addition to the top management of the Umbrian university, also Fabio Paratici, who would have taken action "to speed up the recognition of Italian citizenship" of the Uruguayan attacker, currently at Atletico Madrid. What does Juve risk in case of guilt? Probably a fine for "lack of loyalty", although article 32 paragraph 7 of the federal code, born in 2001 after the Passaportopoli case, even provides for relegation or exclusion from the championship, obviously for the most serious cases. Inter doesn't have these thoughts, whose mind is totally turned to pitch commitments.
On Wednesday, the Nerazzurri will play in qualifying against Shakhtar, but first they have to deal with Mihajlovic's Bologna, back from two consecutive victories with Sampdoria and Crotone which have improved their standings and mood. A bad nut to crack, because the rossoblu are playing it openly with everyone and already in the summer they managed to clear the San Siro, effectively closing the doors to the Scudetto for Conte. “We face a strong and determined side who had a week to prepare for the match – commented Antonio Conte -. We want to give continuity to our journey even if it is inevitable to feel a little tired: at least this time we had an extra day of rest…”.
The Nerazzurri coach knows that his could pay the European commitments, especially on a nervous level, but also that tonight's challenge shouldn't be wrong for any reason. The victories against Sassuolo and Borussia have restored some serenity to the environment, but it is clear that these will have to be followed by others, starting today. However, Conte will not be able to ignore the imminent match against Shakhtar, which is why he will resort to turnover, setting up a 3-5-2 with Handanovic in goal, D'Ambrosio, De Vrij and Bastoni in defense, Hakimi, Vidal, Brozovic , Gagliardini and Perisic in midfield, Lukaku and Sanchez (ahead of Lautaro) in attack.
Mihajlovic, refreshed by his team's recent successes (the last one without conceding a goal), will respond with a 3-4-1-2 formation that will see Skorupski in goal, Medel, Danilo and Tomiyasu in the back, De Silvestri, Schouten, Svanberg and Hickey in midfield, Soriano behind the offensive duo Barrow-Palacio. However, Lazio will open the day, awaited from Cesena's away match at Spezia (the Picco stadium, in fact, is not yet ready). An insidious commitment, both for the quality of the Bianconeri, up to now one of the best players in the league, and for the imminent Champions League match against Club Brugge, which will be decisive for qualification. In short, the speeches made previously for Inter also apply at the Biancoceleste home, where the standings, moreover, are even more deficient.
“I still have to evaluate the conditions of those who played in Dortmund, but against Spezia we will have to find the motivations that we have always had in Europe – explained Inzaghi -. We know that a demanding match awaits us, against an opponent who plays well and comes from excellent performances: we will need an important test". An eye on Club Brugge will necessarily be there, with the Lazio coach who should rely on a 3-5-2 with Reina in goal, Luiz Felipe, Acerbi and Radu in defense, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto and Marusic in midfield, Immobile and Pereira in attack . 4-3-3 instead for the Italian, who will respond with Provedel between the posts, Ferrer, Terzi, Erlic and Bastoni in the back department, Estevez, Ricci and Maggiore in the midfield, Gyasi, Nzola and Farias in the offensive trident.
