Preseason friendlies: Juventus vs. Inter, probable lineups

Just a few days after the Madonnina derby ended in a 1-1 draw, Perth’s Optus Stadium in Western Australia will also host the Italian derby between Juventus and Inter: on paper and for the record books, it remains a friendly, but for the two fan bases, it will nonetheless be a match capable of setting the tone on the eve of the new season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Italian time (7 p.m. in Perth).

Juventus has had a satisfactory preseason so far in terms of results: after a 0-0 draw with Basel in their first friendly, they followed up with victories against Standard Liège (1-0, goal by Miretti), Nice (2-0, with goals from Douglas Luiz and Oboavwoduo), and Chelsea (1-0, with Zhegrova scoring the decisive goal). Defensive solidity has been the key so far, while on the offensive end—without a true center forward—Spalletti seems content: “We don’t need just one striker to score twenty goals; we need to rotate more players,” he said on the eve of the Juve-Inter match.

The Nerazzurri, meanwhile, have played three friendly matches so far, winning their opener 2-1 against Karlsruhe (a brace by Diouf after the 90th minute to overturn the deficit caused by Civeja). This was followed by two 1-1 draws: the first against Manchester City (Pavard equalized after Mubama’s goal), followed by a 3-1 victory on penalty kicks; the second against Milan (the Nerazzurri took the lead through Dimarco, then Nkunku equalized on a penalty kick), with the match ending at the final whistle without a penalty shootout.

Probable Lineups

JUVENTUS (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Koopmeiners, Bremer, Cambiaso; Douglas Luiz, Locatelli; Alajbegovic, McKennie, Conceiçao; David. Coach: Spalletti.

INTER (3-5-2): J. Martinez; Pavard, Bisseck, Bastoni; Diouf, Barella, Stankovic, Zielinski, Dimarco; Iddrissou, Esposito. Coach: Chivu.