Juventus vs. Inter Milan Italy Serie A, Juventus Stadium, Turin Italy 1:45 PM Sunday March 25, 2012
By Jason Green, Soccer Handicapper, Predictem.com
Match Odds: Juventus 1.61/Inter Milan 5.50/Draw 3.75
Moneyline: Juventus -163/Inter Milan +450/Draw +275
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
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Juventus has played great this season, but with their recent form they have fallen behind AC Milan in the Serie A table. They trail AC Milan by 4 points with 10 matches left, so there is still time to catch the defending champion even though they do not face them any more this season.
While Juventus is unbeaten in their last 5 Serie A matches they have fallen back of AC Milan, as they only have 1 win and 4 draws. With AC Milan hosting Roma on Saturday they may be 7 points clear of Inter if they win and if that is the case Juventus really needs to beat Inter Milan.
Inter has really not looked like the Inter of the last several seasons, as they currently sit in 8th place in the league table. They are 9 points behind the 4th place club and unless they go on a tea they will not finish in the top 4 in the league and get an automatic Champions League bid for next season.
Inter’s once potent offense has struggles, as had their defense and this season in Serie A play they have scored 38 goals and conceded 36 goals. On top of that G Julio Cesar is dealing with an injury and he may not play this Sunday night.
Inter really misses Samuel Eto’o and his offense and their big off-season addition Diego Forlan, who once starred for Atletico Madrid, has not panned out, big time, as the Argentine striker has a grand total of 2 goals this season. Inter Milan is coming off a 0-0 draw in their last match and their offense gets no break in this game facing a Juve defense that has given up the fewest goals in Serie A play.
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The Inter Milan fans have been letting their team know they are not happy and it may be good that they are on the road since they have not won on their home pitch since late January.
Juventus Last 5 Matches:
3/3/2012 Juventus 1 Chievo Verona 1 (Serie A)
3/7/2012 Bologna 1 Juventus 1 (Serie A)
3/11/2012 Genoa 0 Juventus 0 (Serie A)
3/17/2012 Fiorentina 0 Juventus 5 (Serie A)
3/20/2012 Juventus 2 AC Milan 2 (Coppa Italia)
Inter Milan Last 5 Matches:
2/26/2012 Napoli 1 Inter 0 (Serie A)
3/4/2012 Inter 2 Catania (Serie A)
3/9/2012 Chievo Verona 0 Inter 2 (Serie A)
3/13/2012 Inter 2 Marseille 1 (Champions League)
3/18/2012 FT Inter 0 Atalanta 0 (Serie A)
In their last 10 Serie A matches Juve has an Over/Under 2.5-goal record of 3-7 and Inter has an Over/Under 2.5-goal record of 5-5.
Unlike Inter Milan Juventus have several guys that can score with the likes of Alessandro Matri (10 goals), Claudio Marchisio (7 goals), Simone Pepe (5 goals), and Mirko Vucinic (5 goals). One good thing that Inter has going for them is that Matri is questionable for this match due to an injury.
Juventus beat Inter in Milan in the end of October and while they had fewer shots they had more time of possession and I look for that to happen again in this match.
Look for Juve to play solid defense again and thwart the only real goal-scoring threats for Inter of Diego Milito (14 goals) and Giampaolo Pazzini (5 goals).
Juventus G Gianluigi Buffon has enjoyed a great season and while I do not think he will keep a clean sheet he will play well. Inter must go all out in this match, as they really have nothing to lose.
Jason’s Pick Cash the Bet: I think Inter will come out from the opening whistle and attack and while I see them playing well their recent struggles will continue. Juve will control the ball in the midfield and that will be the key in this match, as they will have many scoring chances. I see Juventus winning this big match by a score of 3-1.
