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5 key matchups for the first Derby d’Italia of the year

By John Vaccaro

MILAN, ITALY - AUGUST 26: Ivan Perisic #44 of FC Internazionale celebrates with his team-mates after scoring the opening goal during the serie A match between FC Internazionale and Torino FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on August 26, 2018 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani - Inter/Inter via Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY - AUGUST 26: Ivan Perisic #44 of FC Internazionale celebrates with his team-mates after scoring the opening goal during the serie A match between FC Internazionale and Torino FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on August 26, 2018 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani - Inter/Inter via Getty Images) /
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MILAN, ITALY – DECEMBER 03: Ivan Perisic of FC Internazionale Milano celebrates with his team-mate Marcelo Brozovic after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AC Chievo Verona at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 3, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY – DECEMBER 03: Ivan Perisic of FC Internazionale Milano celebrates with his team-mate Marcelo Brozovic after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AC Chievo Verona at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 3, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images) /

Ivan Perisic vs Joao Cancelo

This is a battle between two players at very different places in their careers. Ivan Perisic an established star who has struggled to reach top form early this season. Joao Cancelo is a young up and comer who is playing his absolute best right now and is establishing himself as a star in his own right.

Serie A fans have known for some time now just how talented Ivan Perisic is, but his performance at the World Cup this summer showcased his skills to fans around the globe. Unfortunately, he has been unable to successfully follow that performance up early in this Serie A season. He hasn’t scored since Inter’s second match of the year and his last assist came nearly 2 months ago. It’s not quite what Inter fans would’ve been hoping for given his past success at the club and his explosion at the World Cup, but all it takes is one key moment for a player with Perisic’s level of talent to turn things around.

Joao Cancelo hasn’t looked like a player to turn things around against this season. He has shut Lorenzo Insigne down twice this season, once with Juve and once with Italy, something nobody else has been able to do this season. He has been making 2.1 tackles per match for Juve this season and has been just about impossible to get past all season. Cancelo will also come into this match with some familiarity with the way Perisic plays after spending last season with Inter. He’ll be looking to remind Inter fans what they’re missing by keeping Perisic from turning his form around.

If Perisic reverses his poor form and wins the duel against Cancelo he would become an important piece of unlocking Juve’s league-best defense. If Cancelo wins the matchup then it’ll make it extremely difficult for Inter to attack from the wings and will greatly increase Juve’s chances of keeping yet another clean sheet.

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