Soccer / series a

In the biggest Serie A fixture of this weekend, Juventus plays host to the newly crowned Serie A Champions, Inter Milan at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday. Although, they would be playing at their home turf, the recently dethroned champions would be under immense pressure to win this game. Andrea Pirlo's outfit can't afford another negative result if they ever want to secure a champions league berth for next season but in Antonio Conte's Inter, they face an uphill task to achieve what is needed. That Antonio Conte had pipped his former employees to the Serie A title this term doesn't mean they would be taking easy against their host. Infact, Antonio Conte wouldn't mind adding to the misery of Andrea Pirlo and Juventus with a win that would most certainly end their quest for a top four finish. However, Juventus could yet pull off an upset by beating the Champions, who really don't have anything to lose. A win for Juventus would be vital especially if Second placed Atalanta wins at Genoa earlier in the day. They would also be doing themselves a favour with an all important victory over Inter for the fact that both AC Milan and Napoli are very much in the hunt to secure a Champions League berth as well. Juventus [ currently on 72 points ] would leapfrog fourth placed Napoli [ currently on 73 points ] if they beat the Champions. They would also draw level on points [ 75 ] with Atalanta, if they fail to beat Genoa earlier in the day and AC Milan. However, victory over Inter Milan wouldn't mean much other than the fact that they would be within touching distance of their rivals for a Champions League spot if Atalanta, AC Milan as well as Napoli all win their games. Going into this game and according to the form guide, Inter Milan are better off than their host. The Nerazzuiri have pick up 12 points from a possible 15 from their last 5 Serie A games. On the other side of the divide, Juventus have only managed to pick up 10 points from a possible 15 in their last 5 Serie A games. In recent times, matches between both sides are evenly balanced and that includes the Coppa Italia two.leg fixture in which Juventus won on aggregate earlier in the season. Despite Juventus winning both the home and away Serie A fixtures last season, Inter Milan paid them in bit part with a 2-0 win in the season's first game at the San Siro. MISSING IN ACTION Andrea Pirlo have a full squad to call upon for this game but that cannot be said of Antonio Conte, who would be without Aleksandar Kolarov, Arturo Vidal and probably Alexis Sanchez. PLAYERS TO WATCH Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo would have to be mentioned, if Juventus were to get the better of Inter Milan this Saturday. The Portuguese International is not just Serie A's top scorer with 28 goals but Juventus' go-to man when it comes to getting the goals that could win a game. On the other side of the divide, Romelu Lukaku has been everything Antonio Conte had hoped he would be when he persuaded the club's board to sign the big Belgian from Manchester United. The former Chelsea FC upstart has been immense for the Champions this term, scoring 22 goals. If Inter Milan were to be victorious tomorrow, Lukaku would be the man for the job . BET ODDS Juventus to win stands at 2.19, a draw stands at 3.82 and a win for Inter Milan stands at 3.34. PREDICTION Although, this game looks like a game Juventus should win due to the fact that they need the points but it is Inter who are better placed to do the double over their host tomorrow. Inter Milan to win is the smart prediction for the game.