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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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19th September 2018, Mestalla, Valencia, Spain; UEFA Champions League football, Valencia versus Juventus; Miralem Pjanic of Juventus Turin scores for 1-0 from a penalty kick in the 43rd minute (photo by Pedro Salado/Action Plus via Getty Images)
19th September 2018, Mestalla, Valencia, Spain; UEFA Champions League football, Valencia versus Juventus; Miralem Pjanic of Juventus Turin scores for 1-0 from a penalty kick in the 43rd minute (photo by Pedro Salado/Action Plus via Getty Images) /

Miralem Pjanic vs Marcelo Brozovic

The clash between Morale Pjanic and Marcelo Brozovic will most likely determine on key aspect of this match. This matchup should give us a pretty good idea of which team is going to control the midfield.

Much like Ivan Perisic, Miralem Pjanic is an established star that has struggled to play at his absolute best this season. He has been able to keep Juve in control of matches with his accurate passing, but he hasn’t been able to make those final passes that open up scoring opportunities like he has in the past. That is likely due in part to him surrendering some of his duties on set pieces because of Ronaldo’s arrival, but he also hasn’t been quite as effective in the final third this year. However, he reminded us against SPAL a couple of weeks ago that he still has he ability to change a game with just one pass. Inter will need to keep him from getting the space needed to make that happen.

Marcelo Brozovic will be the man tasked with keeping Pjanic from getting that space. He has been a defensive nuisance all season for Inter and has been the most important player in their midfield. Keeping up his 3.3 tackle per match might not be enough this time around though. On top of making sure that his Juve counterpart doesn’t get space to create, Brozovic will also be asked to take on some creative duties of his own in Nainggolan’s absence. This may be asking a lot of Brozovic, but if anybody has looked capable of carrying Inter to victory this season, it’s Brozovic.

A win for either side here would put their team in control of the midfield battle and likely give them control of possession in the match. What the team that wins these matchups does with that possession advantage will be determined by the other 4 matchups.

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