Inter can gain the upper hand in next season’s Serie A title race as early as tomorrow, a report in the Italian media argued today.

Gazzetta dello Sport’s print edition said the Nerazzurri would have an advantage on the starting blocks in August if they could deny Juventus a top-four finish by winning the Derby d’Italia.

Juventus’ hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification would be all but over if they lost tomorrow, and missing out on the top four would make it harder for them to plan a title charge next season.

Inter are expected to put in a serious performance at the Allianz Stadium, arriving in a relaxed mood but with the desire to strike a blow to their arch rivals.

Conte is likely to have added motivation when he visits his former club, the Milan-based paper added, after Inter’s feisty Coppa Italia semi-final second leg in Turin in February.

Inter’s boss ended up getting involved in a spat with Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, and he will not have forgotten the nasty atmosphere that surrounded him on that evening.

Conte arrived at Inter in 2019 and since then he has gained 39 points on Juventus, with the Nerazzurri going from 23 points behind to being 16 points clear in the Serie A table.

He dreamed of ending the Bianconeri’s nine-year reign in Italy when he joined Inter – a dominant period he started back in 2011 – and everything has gone exactly as he’d hoped.