Matchday 27 in the Italian Serie A sees another edition of the Derby d'Italia with Inter hosting Juventus to close out the weekend. Inter comes into this game off the back of advancing to the Champions League quarter final with a 0-0 away draw against FC Porto, advancing the Italian giants 1-0 on aggregate. It marks the first time the Nerazzurri have made the quarter finals of Europe’s most prestigious club competition since the 2010/11 campaign. As for the Serie A season, Inters sit second in the standings with a record of 16 wins, two draws and eight defeats, for a total of 50 points. They sit a massive 18 points behind leaders Napoli and will be battling it out with Lazio, Milan, Roma and Atalanta for the three remaining Champions League spots. Inter has allowed their opponents to make up some ground after losing two of the last three Serie A clashes. Their last league outing ended in a 2-1 away defeat to Spezia.
Juventus come into this derby sitting in seventh-place due to the teams 15 point reduction penalty earlier in the season. Juventus would be sitting in second-place due to their record of 16 wins, five draws and five defeats which would have given them a points total of 53 points. However, they now find themselves with an outside chance of qualifying for European football and they’ll need to be practically perfect in the run-in to give themselves a shot. The Old Lady is coming off a 2-0 away win over Freiburg midweek to advance to the Europa League quarter final by an aggregate score of 3-0 over the German side. Juventus have now ripped off three straight wins and six wins from the last seven matches across all competitions. Juve’s last Serie A encounter ended in a 4-2 home victory over Sampdoria and they’ll be seeking their sixth victory from the last seven Serie A matches here.
Both teams come into this match having to deal with a congested fixture list as each find themselves still involved in the latter stages of their respective UEFA tournaments. This could lead to a more cagey affair between the two rivals, especially considering how dominant both teams have been on the defensive side this season. Inter’s home defense is one of the best in the league while Juventus’ away defense receives the same praise. The result is likely going to be an encounter in which at least one of these two teams is able to keep the opponent from scoring. Our Inter vs Juventus prediction: Both teams to score: No