Serie A Preview: The Italian Derby! Inter Milan’s Defense Shows Significant Decline, Juventus’ New Signings Underperform

At 1:00 AM on October 28, the 9th round of the 24/25 Serie A season will feature a major clash as defending champions Inter Milan host their old rivals Juventus at the San Siro Stadium.

In the first 8 league matches, Inter Milan have recorded 5 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, accumulating 17 points and currently sitting in second place in the standings. Notably, Inter’s attacking prowess is not particularly strong, with 17 goals scored in 8 matches, averaging 2.1 goals per game. Meanwhile, they have conceded 9 goals, averaging 1.1 goals conceded per game.

Inter’s attack is still respectable in Serie A, trailing only Atalanta, who have scored 24 goals, and even outscoring league leaders Napoli by one goal. However, there is room for improvement in defense, as they have conceded more goals than Juventus (1 goal), Napoli (5 goals), Empoli (5 goals), and Roma (6 goals). In a league that values defense highly, the Nerazzurri need to refine their defensive tactics.

Juventus failed to win any trophies last year, leading to Allegri’s departure. Motta, who led Bologna’s rise, took over, and the club made several significant signings in the summer transfer window, spending €54.7 million on Kupméniás, €51.5 million on Douglas Luiz, €20.6 million on Khephren Thuram, and €12.8 million on Cavallaro from Hellas Verona.

However, these new signings have generally not met expectations. Kupméniás has appeared in 7 matches across all competitions, contributing just one assist and no goals. Douglas Luiz has started only twice in 9 appearances, failing to score or provide an assist. Despite this, Juventus’ defense stands out as the best in the top five leagues, having conceded only one goal so far.

However, Juventus’ offense has encountered significant issues, scoring only 11 goals in the first 8 rounds, averaging just 1.37 goals per game, which is not the performance expected from a title contender. Even considering Serie A’s defensive focus, this level of play is unsatisfactory.

Inter’s home form is impressive, with 4 wins and 1 loss in their first 5 home games of the season, scoring 14 goals and conceding only 4, keeping three clean sheets. Juventus, on the other hand, has played 4 away matches, winning 3 and drawing 1, remaining unbeaten. They have scored 9 goals and conceded just 2, including 3-0 victories against Hellas Verona and Genoa, accounting for 54.5% of their league goals.

In their last 10 meetings, Inter has a clear advantage with 5 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses, including 2 wins and 2 draws in their last 4 encounters, both wins being 1-0. With Napoli already securing a win in their match, extending their lead to 5 points, Inter needs a victory to keep pace with the title contenders. Juventus, trailing the leaders by 6 points, also desperately needs a win to maintain their title hopes.

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