The first piece of domestic silverware is up for grabs on Wednesday night as last season’s Coppa Italia victors Juventus take on Scudetto holders Inter Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana at San Siro.
Juve claimed victory in this contest last season by beating Napoli 2-0 and they’re looking to win this trophy for the tenth time when they face off against their Derby d’Italia rivals. Inter are five-time winners of the Supercoppa but they haven’t been a part of this contest since 2011.
Both teams head into the contest after claiming important victories on Sunday evening. Juve’s miraculous comeback against AS Roma kept them within touching distance of Serie A’s top-four, while Inter’s 2-1 triumph over Lazio sent them back to the top of the table. AC Milan had earlier usurped their crosstown rivals after beating Venezia.
The Nerazzurri are currently playing at a level that rivals, if not betters, their apex under Antonio Conte. Simone Inzaghi deserves a huge amount of praise for the job he’s done in Milan thus far, and Wednesday provides him with an early opportunity to claim his first trophy as Inter boss.
For Juve, there’s hope that their win in Rome will prove to be a momentum-shifter in what’s been an indifferent season up to this point. However, they have their work cut out if they’re to triumph on Wednesday considering how depleted they are.
Here’s our preview of the 2022 Supercoppa Italiana.
How to Watch the 2022 Supercoppa Italiana
When is kick-off? Wednesday 12 January
What time is kick-off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it played? San Siro
TV channel/live stream? Premier Sports 1 (UK), N/A (US)
Referee? Daniele Doveri
VAR? Paolo Mazzoleni
Inter Milan Team News
There’s little for Simone Inzaghi to be concerned about on the injury front for this one and he’ll be bolstered by the return of Hakan Calhanoglu in midfield. The Turkish international served his one-game suspension against Lazio at the weekend.
He’ll join usual suspects Nicolo Barella and Marcelo Brozovic in Inter’s three-man midfield meaning Roberto Gagliardini should drop to the bench. Edin Dzeko is also poised to return to the XI after earning minutes off the bench on Sunday. Although, Alexis Sanchez’s impressive display may tempt Inzaghi to keep the Chilean in the team.
The Nerazzurri’s superb back three remains intact, while Denzel Dumfries picked up an eye injury and was forced off against Lazio. He should be fine for Wednesday, however.
Juventus Team News
👀 Sights now set on the Super Cup 🏆#SupercoppaFrecciarossa #InterJuve
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) January 10, 2022
Juventus will be without several key names for Wednesday’s Supercoppa. Federico Chiesa’s ACL injury has ruled him out indefinitely, while Matthijs de Ligt and Juan Cuadrado are suspended following Sunday’s thriller in the Italian capital.
The injured Aaron Ramsey misses out after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday with Danilo unlikely to return despite returning to light training ahead of the contest.
Alex Sandro is back in contention after he missed the trip to Rome due to injury and Allegri will decide whether to start the Brazilian or Luca Pellegrini at left-back with Mattia De Sciglio starting on the opposite flank. Giorgio Chiellini, meanwhile, will partner Daniele Rugani in defence with Leonardo Bonucci still out.
In midfield, Arthur Melo may earn a rare start after impressing off the bench on Sunday. As a result, we could see Manuel Locatelli pushed further upfield. Adrien Rabiot could come in for Weston McKennie, who’s a contender to earn a rest.
2022 Supercoppa Italiana Predicted Lineups
Inter Milan: Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu; Lautaro, Dzeko.
Juventus: Szczesny; De Sciglio, Rugani, Chiellini, Pellegrini; Arthur, Locatelli, Rabiot; Dybala, Morata, Bernardeschi.
Inter Milan’s Recent Form
Inter Milan 2-1 Lazio (09/12) – Serie A
Inter Milan 1-0 Torino (22/12) – Serie A
Salernitana 0-5 Inter Milan (17/12) – Serie A
Inter Milan 4-0 Cagliari (12/12) – Serie A
Real Madrid 2-0 Inter Milan (07/12) – Champions League
Juventus’ Recent Form
AS Roma 3-4 Juventus (09/12) – Serie A
Juventus 1-1 Napoli (06/01) – Serie A
Juventus 2-0 Cagliari (21/12) – Serie A
Bologna 0-2 Juventus (18/12) – Serie A
Venezia 1-1 Juventus (11/12) – Serie A
Prediction
Max Allegri returns to the bench on Wednesday and it’ll be interesting to see whether he delivers the midfield that’ll satisfy the masses. The chaotic seven second-half minutes in which Juve turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead should provide the manager with a blueprint moving forward. No fear.
However, Wednesday’s Supercoppa may be beyond the Bianconeri. While they’ve impressively coped with key absences so far this season, they haven’t played a side as good as Inter when their ranks have been this depleted. The Nerazzurri are a juggernaut, superb in almost every facet of the game, and it’ll take the perfect 90 minutes from Juve to beat them in this one.
While I think Allegri’s side will hang around, I can’t envisage the black and white stripes holding aloft any silverware by the end of the night.
Prediction: Inter Milan 2-0 Juventus