Juventus vs Inter Milan – Betting Tips and Seria A Preview

Amid the closest battle for the Serie A title in many years, current league leaders Juventus clash with third-placed Inter Milan with just six points separating the two teams with the hosts having played a game extra. Unfortunately, due to Coronavirus prevalent in the region, the game will be played without paying spectators which will deprive Juve of their passionate home support for such a crucial contest. It will now be a case of whether Inter can take advantage of the expected strange atmosphere by collecting all three points from this encounter. The visitors did play in front of empty stands when winning in midweek Europa League action.

In recent seasons, it has normally been the case that Juventus have assured themselves of the Serie A title a long time before the season finale. This campaign is a new experience for several of their more established players with two close challengers for their title, and the Old Lady have displayed signs of vulnerability lately. Although Juve had won every home game this term apart from a 2-2 draw with Sassuolo, away defeats at Napoli and Hellas Verona is uncharacteristic, and they struggled to beat both Brescia and SPAL in their latest two domestic fixtures.

For Inter Milan, this game will represent a return to domestic action after beating Ludogorets Razgrad in both legs of their Europa League tie. Inter’s previous scheduled Serie A game was postponed, but they had lost 2-1 at fellow title challengers Lazio in their prior fixture. That loss was just a second league defeat of the season for Internationale after suffering a 2-1 home loss to Juventus earlier in the campaign. Avenging that defeat will be crucial for Inter, and they have won all but two drawn matches on the road this season in domestic action.

Team News

Merih Demiral (knee ligaments) will not be available for the rest of the season at Juventus while Gonzalo Higuain and Miralem Pjanic are both struggling with leg muscle injuries. Douglas Costa is another doubt with a back problem.

Sami Handanovic (broken finger) may miss another game for Inter Milan while Roberto Gagliardini (foot) and Stefano Sensi (foot) are also doubtful.

Prediction

Played in front of a near-empty stadium, this will be a strange event for both sets of players and could impact upon their performances. For Inter, it will be imperative to avoid a second successive Serie A loss especially after their defeat at Lazio last time. Hosts Juventus will be seeking an eighth successive competitive victory on home soil, but there were signs of weakness in the form of the Old Lady during February. Both teams could be quite happy to settle for a share of the points, and therefore a good bet may be for a Draw priced at 11/5 with Bet365.

A second pick is for Under 2.5 Goals Scored offered at 4/5 by Bet365. In just two matches this year have Juventus conceded more than once, and both of those games were played on away territory. It is a similar scenario for Inter Milan with that 2-1 loss at Lazio and a 4-2 home win against AC Milan representing the only occasions when they have conceded more than one goal during 2020. Even though both teams possess abundant attacking strength, this game could be a close affair with neither team willing to take too many risks, and few goals may be scored as defences dominate.