Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Inter Milan

Remember when Juventus was able to beat Inter Milan over two legs of the Coppa Italia semifinals a few months back? Remember that day when the pictures of Juventus players and coaches alike were wonderful and joyful and we were somewhat optimistic about what could be ahead following one of the biggest moments of the first half of the season?

Well ...

Those days are long gone.

Yes, even with Juventus in next week’s Coppa Italia final against Atalanta, those celebratory days are a distant memory compared to what Andrea Pirlo’s squad is currently dealing with. There are all of two games to go in the 2020-21 Serie A season, and Juventus’ Champions League status could very well come to an end tonight against Antonio Conte and Inter. And how fitting would it that the guy who helped Juventus win their first couple of Scudetti during the decade of dominance ends up being the one who puts the final nail in their coffin and end any remaining Champions League hopes that Pirlo’s squad still has.

Juventus doesn’t control its own destiny when it comes to finishing in the top four. They need help, and a good amount of it if there’s even a chance of entering next weekend’s season finale with the chance to finish in the top four. This is not case of any kind of breathing room being present or just a couple of wins resulting in Juventus getting into the top four.

They need to win AND get help.

And they just so happen to have the brand new Serie A champions coming to town.

What could possibly go wrong, right?

But just remember this: Every now and then, even with Juventus having a season that is far from what the early season expectations were, can create a little bit of magic against Inter and hand their most-hated rival a big fat L before they head back to Milan.

The guy currently wearing the No. 8 is not as good as the guy who wore the No. 8 in that video above. But maybe, just maybe, Juventus can put together a performance like that against an Inter team that is clearly better than they are. Who knows, but having a little bit of hope has never hurt anybody.

MATCH INFO

When: Saturday, May 15, 2021

Where: Allianz Stadium, Italy

Official kickoff time: 6 p.m. local time in Italy and across Europe; 5 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 12 p.m. Eastern Time; 9 a.m. Pacific Time

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (4-4-2): Szczesny; Danilo, de Ligt, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado, Bentancur, Rabiot, Chiesa; Kulusevski, Ronaldo

Juventus bench: Buffon, Pinsoglio, Bonucci, Demiral, Arthur, Ramsey, McKennie, Bernardeschi, Morata, Dybala, Felix Correia

Inter Milan starting XI (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, A Bastoni; Hakimi, Barella, Brozovic, Eriksen, Perisic; Lautaro Martinez, Lukaku

Inter Milan bench: Padelli, Radu, Gagliardini, Vecino, Sensi, Ranocchia, Perisic, Young, D’Ambrosio, Pinamonti

HOW TO WATCH

Television: RAI Italia North America (United States); RAI Italia North America, TLN (Canada); Premier Sports 2 (United Kingdom); Sky Sport 251, Sky Sport Serie A (Italy)

Online/mobile: ESPN+ (United States); DAZN (Canada); Premier Player HD (United Kingdom); SKY Go Italia, NOW TV (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.