Juventus head to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza to lock horns with eternal Serie A rivals Inter in Sunday’s blockbuster. Thiago Motta’s men will be out to atone for an abysmal midweek performance against Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League.
The Bundesliga outfit halted Motta’s unbeaten start to life in Turin as El Bilal Toure’s late winner silenced the Allianz Stadium in Juve’s gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat. Mattia Perin’s heroics between the sticks spared Bianconeri’s blushes but were eventually insufficient to make up for Danilo’s clumsiness.
However, Juventus remain the only team in Serie A yet to lose a league game this season (W4, D4). Inspired by their undefeated top-flight record, the record-time Italian champions will look to end a four-game winless run against Inter in all competitions and regain confidence following Tuesday’s heartache.
Michele Di Gregorio should return to the starting XI despite Perin’s outstanding performance a few days ago. Danilo’s expulsion amid growing speculation he could leave Juventus this winter would’ve probably got him relegated to the bench. But with Gleison Bremer injured, Motta will deploy the Brazilian alongside Federico Gatti in the center-back pairing.
Pierre Kalulu barely put his foot wrong against Stuttgart and should start at right-back. Andrea Cambiaso should displace Juan Cabal on the left in Motta’s signature 4-2-3-1 set-up. Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners lack match fitness, meaning Manuel Locatelli and Nicolo Fagioli will likely start in the double-pivot.
Moving further up the pitch, Juventus suffer more personnel problems. Nicolas Gonzalez is still on the sidelines, with Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz likely to be on the wings. Weston McKennie should assume the role of an advanced playmaker and play closest to Dusan Vlahovic.
How Juventus will line up
(4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Cambiaso, Danilo, Kalulu, Kalulu; Fagioli, Locatelli; Weah, McKennie, Yildiz; Vlahovic
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