Andrea Barzagli has urged his Bianconeri team-mates to pay close attention to high-flying Inter on Saturday night at Juventus Stadium.

The Nerazzurri are hot on the heels of Juventus and have emerged victorious from all five Serie A away games contested this season.

Speaking to Sky, Barzagli began: “We’ll be facing a great team. They’ve changed many players this year, but several driving forces have remained. Inter have a very competitive squad and they’re displaying that so far this season.

“They’ve also got a young manager in the form of Stramaccioni, who wants to earn his stripes and is getting the team to play good football. They can certainly fight for the Scudetto, but this game comes too early to be decisive.”

Whilst both sides remain committed to the fundamental principles of attractive football, there is a clear difference between the game plans of Conte and Stramaccioni.

The 31-year-old central defender sought to explain the distinction.

“We always try to keep the ball and build the play from the back. They rely more on individuals, defending with greater numbers before setting off on the counter, with good players up front. Milito is their greatest threat as far as I’m concerned, I regard him as the complete striker and one of the best in Europe.”

With Juventus going great guns in the championship thanks to nine victories from their first ten encounters, journalists have moved to draw parallels between Conte’s Bianconeri and Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning Inter side.

But Barzagli believes it is still too early for such comparisons to be made.

“We’ve only been considered as favourites since the start of this season. We’re now aware of our strengths but aim to keep our feet on the ground at the same time.

“It’s the first year for many of us in the Champions League, we’re doing even better than last year in the championship, but saying we’ll dominate like Mourinho’s Inter did seems a little bit over the top at this stage.”