Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Inter Milan

A lot of the time, Juventus’ trip to the San Siro to face Inter Milan comes with a week of hype, splashy headlines in the Italian media and sky-high anticipation by the time kickoff rolls around.

This week?

Well, not so much.

The byproduct of Juventus clinching the Scudetto as early as they have is that a good amount of the luster of the Derby d’Italia isn’t there. Instead, tonight’s meeting between arch-rivals Juve and Inter Milan just seems like another game — at least for the visiting team — rather than a much-ballyhooed meeting between two of Serie A’s top four teams.

Sure, there’s the rivalry aspect. And there’s nothing more enjoyable than, regardless of where either team is in the standings or what time of the season it is, Juventus heading over to Milan, walking into the San Siro and coming away with a win over Inter. It just seems right, seems ultimately fulfilling and completely worth it all.

In short, Juventus beating Inter is fun — no matter what the context is entering the game.

Juventus has just pride to play for the rest of this season. The record of eight straight Scudetti is officially a thing, with the 2-1 comeback win over Fiorentina last weekend ending the title race for another season. The 20-point gap between Juventus and Napoli entering this weekend’s slate of games is one of the biggest point differentials we’ve seen between the two clubs this season, and to think that it could become even a wider disparity before the 2018-19 campaign comes to a close is just crazy to think about.

Yet, for Inter, it’s all about securing a top 4 finish — which isn’t exactly a lock at this point knowing how inconsistent they’ve been and who’s currently chasing them. Five points is all that stands between third-place Inter and sixth-place Atalanta. And, looking at the schedule, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Juventus will play a large role in just who finishes where.

So, for now, we shall concentrate on the trip to Milan to face Inter. And while tonight’s Derby d’Italia might not have as much heat behind it as previous editions, the end goal remains the same for Juventus — beat Inter and put a smile on those people who see things through bianconero-colored glasses.

Sounds like a pretty good way to begin the weekend to me.

MATCH INFO

When: Saturday, April 27, 2019

Where: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy

Official kickoff time: 8:30 p.m. local time in Italy and across Europe; 7:30 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time; 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (3-5-2): Szczesny; Emre Can, Bonucci, Chiellini; Cancelo, Cuadrado, Pjanic, Matuidi, Alex Sandro; Bernardeschi, Ronaldo

Juventus bench: Pinsoglio, Del Favero, De Sciglio, Barzagli, Kean, Rugani, Matheus Pereira, Spinazzola, Nicolussi Caviglia

Inter Milan starting XI (4-2-3-1): Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, De Vrij, Skriniar, Asamoah; Vecino, Brozovic; Politano, Nainggolan, Perisic; Icardi

Inter Milan bench: Padelli, Gagliardini, Lautaro Martinez, Keita, Ranocchia, Joao Mario, Borja Valero, Cedric Soares, Miranda, Dalbert, Candreva

HOW TO WATCH

Television: RAI Italia America (United States); RAI Italia America, TLN (Canada)

Online/mobile: ESPN+ (United States); DAZN (Canada); DAZN (Italy)

Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Twitter. If you haven’t already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.