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3 key battles that will decide Sunday’s Derby d’Italia

By James Cormack

MILAN, ITALY, JANUARY 12:Paulo Dybala (R), of Juventus, is chased by Marcelo Brozovic, of FC Internazionale (L), during the Italian Super Cup football match between FC Internazionale and Juventus at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, on January 12, 2022. (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY, JANUARY 12:Paulo Dybala (R), of Juventus, is chased by Marcelo Brozovic, of FC Internazionale (L), during the Italian Super Cup football match between FC Internazionale and Juventus at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, on January 12, 2022. (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) /
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3. Edin Dzeko vs Juventus’ centre-backs

It could be an aerial bombardment from Inter on Sunday. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/CPS Images/Getty Images)
It could be an aerial bombardment from Inter on Sunday. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/CPS Images/Getty Images) /

Edin Dzeko’s productive start to the season, in which he made nine Serie A goal contributions in his first nine games, has petered out into what many supporters initially expected him to produce this season as a 36-year-old.

Nevertheless, the Bosnian has taken his goal contributions tally up to an impressive 18 since, and he remains an ever-present in Inzaghi’s forward line. The veteran’s primary issue has been his faltering on-field relationship with Lautaro Martinez and he’s recently appeared more comfortable alongside the crafty Alexis Sanchez, whom he set up for a late equaliser at Torino last month.

However, whoever is given the nod alongside Dzeko is pretty irrelevant in this key battle. Instead, this is all about who can service the Bosnian from out wide.

With Juventus poised to sit deep, there will be less onus on Dzeko running in behind and, instead, the Bianconeri defenders could be subject to an aerial bombardment – as they were in the victory over Sampdoria last month. However, in Matthijs de Ligt and Giorgio Chiellini, who will reportedly get the nod for this one, Juventus are blessed with two exceptional box defenders who are both brilliant in the air.

Chiellini leads the Bianconeri with a 68.5% aerial duel success rate in Serie A this season, while De Ligt’s 66.4% is third-best. No Juve player, however, tops De Ligt’s 81 aerial duels won.

With Inter struggling from a creative perspective as of late, it wouldn’t surprise me if they resort to crosses in a bid to penetrate Juve’s deep block. In Ivan Perisic, they have a masterful two-footed crosser off the left, while Nicolo Barella is so dangerous when he’s given space out on the right.

We saw the Nerazzurri dominate out wide in the reverse league meeting and similar supremacy will have to be established in this one if Inter are to create a foundation for a crossing bombardment. Expect plenty of rotations with D’Ambrosio and Alessandro Bastoni frequently bombing on in a bid to overload the hosts down the flanks.

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