Internazionale vs Juventus Preview

The Bianconeri will be looking to claim a crucial victory in the Derby d'Italia that would steer them closer towards Serie A glory.

Juventus travel to Milan to take on hosts Inter Milan in what promises to be an action-packed encounter at the San Siro on Saturday.

The Italian champions are fully aware of the fact that if they manage to pick up the three points they would practically assure themselves of back-to-back Serie A titles.

Juventus will have painful memories of their last meeting with Inter in November, as it was in that game that their impressive 49-game unbeaten run came to an abrupt end, as the visitors pulled off a 3-1 upset victory at the Juventus Stadium.

But the Bianconeri, who find themselves with 18 points more than their rivals, will be desperate to avoid a repeat result, as a victory for Antonio Conte's men could see them go 12 points clear at the top of the league standings. Second-placed Napoli would have to lose against Torino for this to happen.

Conte, who has managed to convey a winning mentality to his troops, is expected to field his strongest-possible starting eleven for the clash, even though the Bianconeri take on Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Giorgio Chiellini isn't at his best, and could be replaced by Luca Marrone in the centre of defence, while there are reports that Fabio Quagliarella could replace Mirko Vucinic in the attack, and form an attacking partnership with Sebastian Giovinco.

Three players will be unavailable for selection, these being the injured trio of Nicklas Bendtner, Simone Pepe and Uruguayan defender Martin Caceres, who continues to recover after being involved in a serious car accident earlier in the month.

Meanwhile, rivals Inter Milan willl be forced to make two changes from the side that were beaten 1-0 by Bologna at the San Siro, as Juan is suspended and Dejan Stankovic is injured.

Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic is expected to return to the Inter goal, while Antonio Cassano is the favourite to partner Rodrigo Palacio in the attack. Palacio found the back of the net against Juventus when the sides last met and has impressed coach Andrea Stramaccioni since then.

A defeat on Saturday would severely dent Inter's chances of qualifying for Europe next season, which has become their principle objective this season.