February 13th 2011, 7.45pm GMT (live on ESPN)
A resurgent Inter put five past Roma last Sunday and recorded another win under Leonardo. The defending champions have won all but one since their new coach took charge, and they sit just five points behind rivals AC Milan with a game in hand.
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| Everybody at Inter wants to be Leonardo's friend |
Leonardo and his players travel to Turin on Sunday evening to take on a Juventus side which followed back-to-back defeats by securing a crucial win over Cagliari last week. Juve are currently six points behind Inter, and they will also have been encouraged by the fact that new signings Matri and Toni contributed their three goals last week. Finishing had been a problem for the Turin side of late – in fact, they scored more against Cagliari than they did in their three games prior to that.
So who will emerge victorious from the derby d’Italia? This, in my view, is a clash between a team on the rise and a team whose form has dipped. Fabio Grosso and Filipe Melo have recently been disappointing for Juve, Gianluigi Buffon has looked unconfident since his return from injury, and Miloš Krasić simply appears tired.
Inter have recently added some quality players in Giampaolo Pazzini, Yuto Nagatomo and Andrea Rannochia, while the likes of Sneijder, Eto’o, Zanetti, Cambiasso and Maicon have been performing to their potential once again since the departure of Rafa Benitez. Expect the Leonardo revival to continue in Turin on Sunday.
Prediction – Inter to win – 4pts
Match odds: Juventus 2/1
Draw 2/1
Inter 7/5
Juventus: Last 5 Serie A Results
05.02.2011 – Cagliari 1-3 Juventus
02.02.2011 – Palermo 2-1 Juventus
30.01.2011 – Juventus 1-2 Udinese
23.01.2011 – Sampdoria 0-0 Juventus
16.01.2011 – Juventus 2-1 Bari
Inter: Last 5 Serie A Results
06.02.2011 – Inter 5-3 Roma
03.02.2011 – Bari 0-3 Inter
30.01.2011 – Inter 3-2 Palermo
23.01.2011 – Udinese 3-1 Inter
19.01.2011 – Inter 3-2 Cesena
