Tonight the highly anticipated fixture between Juventus and Inter Milan is set to kick off at the Stadio Olimpico. Expect nothing less of one of the fiercest rivalry that the world of football has to offer.

Second placed Juventus are currently separated from the top by a ten-point deficit and while their Scudetto hopes seem to be over for this season – a victory against their worst rivals would release some of the intense pressure the club has been under during the past couple of weeks.

Although the game matters little when it comes to the title race, the clash will come to centralize around honour for Juventus who after a frustrating season looks to be finishing second best to their worst rivals.

Juventus

photo credit: Crystian Cruz
With Inter’s sidestep against Palermo last week; Juventus had a great opportunity to spice up the Scudetto race. Instead the Old Lady of Turin fell to a defeat at the hands of a Genoa that has prospered under the guidance of Walter Mas.

Even though Alessandro Del Piero and Vincenzo Iaquinta managed to cancel out Genoa’s lead twice, the Bianconeri were unable to salvage any points when Juventus schooled Raffaele Palladino put a third past Gianluigi Buffon to make the scoreline 3-2 in Genoa’s favour.

Although the Scudetto look very unlikely at this stage in the season, Claudio Ranieri’s men will be going out with their guns blazing in order to grab all three points in front of the home crowd.

Hasan Salihamidzic, Claudio Marchisio and Mohamed Sissoko are all set to miss out on the action due to injury whereas Mauro Camoranesi will miss the important fixture due to suspension.

Juventus probable starting XI: Buffon; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Molinaro; Marchionni, Poulsen, Tiago, Nedved; Iaquinta, Trezeguet

Inter Milan

photo credit: batrax
With Juventus failing to capitalize on Inter’s sidestep, the gap instead of decreasing, went on to increase to an impressive ten points.

Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had put Inter two up when Palermo came to visit the San Siro. The Nerazzurri looked to be on their way to securing three new points when the visiting side levelled the score with two quick goals towards the end of the game.

Although the game mean little to the Scudetto race, José Mourinho’s men have promised to give it their all in order to snatch maximum points.

The Special One will be without the services of the injured Amatino Mancini and Douglas Maicon. On top of that Adriano is still in Brazil.

Inter Milan probable starting XI: Cesar; Santon, Cordoba, Chivu, Maxwell; Zanetti, Cambiasso, Muntari; Stankovic; Balotelli, Ibrahimovic

Possibly Related Posts:

• Paulo Ferreira ends international football
• Video : Atlético Madrid Beat Inter 2-0 to claim UEFA Super Cup
• Nicolas Anelka Bans for 18 matches
• Norway beat France 2-1 with a Huseklepp double.
• Diarra: ”Laurent Blanc will bring serenity and confidence”

Tags: Derby d'Italia, Inter Milan, Juventus, Serie A