Inter vs Juventus, the Derby D’Italia, is a special occasion in Italian football. Whenever these two titans face off, there is always bound to be fireworks, drama, and some great football.
Tonight, these two rivals face off for the 179th time in Serie A, the first time in the 2020/21 season, and it could be the first time Inter win this tie in 7 attempts.
Historically, Juventus have been the better of the two sides. Of the 178 matches played between the two, Juventus have won a massive 85 times, that’s just under 48%. Whereas Inter have only been victorious 47 times (26%).
Things seem to be more in Juve’s favour when looking at these figures, especially when you factor in that Inter have failed to beat Juve for 7 matches running.
If you look a bit closer at these figures though, you might argue that Inter have the upper hand with being the home side this evening.
Of the 89 matches played at the San Siro, Inter have won the most with 36 wins, and scored 138 goals compared to Juventus’ 24 wins and 100 goals scored.
Looking at more current form, and in particular the league table, then you would get the impression that Inter should win this tie.
Currently, Inter sit in 2nd place, 3 points off top place Milan, and 4 points ahead of 4th placed Juventus, although they do have a game in hand over Inter, and could reduce that gap to just one point.
Inter have won 3 of their last 5 league matches, drawing 1 and losing 1. They also remain the top scorers in the league, with 43 goals, and have conceded 23, equal 6th lowest with Roma.
Inter’s top scorer remains Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker has been in sensational form this season, bagging 12 goals which puts him in 2nd place among Serie A’s top goalscorers this term.
Juventus, on the other hand, have won 4 of their last 5 matches, losing 1. Juventus currently boast the equal best defence in the league so far, letting in 16 goals, sharing that status with Verona and Napoli.
On the other end of the pitch, Juve have the 5th best goal-scoring record to date, with 35 goals. This is boosted by none other than star man Cristiano Ronaldo, who is not only the top scorer for Juve, but also in the league, with 15 to his name.
This match will be very important for both teams, not only for the bragging rights over the opposing fans, but also to jump-start either sides title campaign.
Antonio Conte’s side were the early favourites for the Serie A title this year, but having hit the usual January rough patch, they have slipped off the pace of AC Milan.
Juventus, although having won the last 9 league titles, were not regarded as odds on favourites this year, mainly down to the club leaving in charge Andrea Pirlo.
Although that name carries immense weight in the world of football, that was earned entirely on the pitch, and this being his first job as a head coach, things don’t come much bigger than leading Juventus on the way to their 10th consecutive Scudetto.
This might only be the first installment of these two teams playing each other, but it could easily set up the winning side for a strong push for the league title, leaving the losing side wondering what might’ve been.
Hit us up on InterStats & SempreInter on Twitter using #InterStats before, during and after the game for coverage of the fixture.
