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Serie A Odds: Leaders Juventus Face In-form Inter Milan

Don Aguero

by Don Aguero in Soccer News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

Juventus (-155) vs Inter Milan (+550), Draw (+300)

Inter Milan (13-3-6, 42 points) will make the short commute to Turin on Sunday, February 5th, to take on Serie A leaders Juventus (17-0-4, 51 points).

Inter Milan are having a strong season so far. The Italian giants are currently fourth in the league and on a seven-game win streak. I Nerazzurri are nine points from the top and, while it’s going to be a tough road ahead, they still have a shot at the title. But in order to do so, they are going to have to dethrone Juventus, who are seeking their sixth consecutive Serie A title.

After their 2015-16 win, Juventus lost their star midfielder, Paul Pogba, to Manchester United for a record-breaking £89m. But that allowed Juve to bring in Gonzalo Higuain, who has in turn scored 15 goals for them so far. It has also allowed the 23-year-old Paulo Dybala to play a bigger role within the team, and the young Argentinian has really risen to the occasion.

Inter have a 23-year-old Argentinian of their own to showcase. Mauro Icardi leads the scoring for Internationale with 15 goals to his name. The youngster has been with the club since 2013, and though he has had a fraught relationship with Inter’s fanbase at times, he’s also done a lot for the club. Along with the support of Croatian midfielders Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic, Icardi brings a fierce counter-attack.

The upcoming game will be big for both sides. Juventus have the chance to pull away from the rest of the league and Inter could close the gap against Juve.

Juventus are formidable opponents on any given day, but they are especially tough at home, winning all eleven of their home games this season. To add to that, Inter have been pretty weak when playing away. Of their ten away games so far, they have lost five. If the game was being held at San Siro then I’d be inclined to give Inter a chance, but at Juventus Stadium, it’s hard to pick against the Bianconeri.

Pick: Juventus (-155)


Photo credit: “Argentina, Bauza apre a Mauro Icardi: “Non ho problemi a convocarlo”” by Nationale Calcio, CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr

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