Post by Salem6 on Nov 28, 2003 15:34:40 GMT
ROME, Nov 28 (Reuters) - If ever there was a fixture Inter Milan would prefer to avoid following their humiliation by Arsenal it would be the one they face on Saturday against Juventus.
Inter's 5-1 Champions League defeat against the English club on Tuesday came at a point when new coach Alberto Zaccheroni had started putting together an impressive series of results.
Ten points from their last four Serie A matches, no goals conceded and eleven scored, including six in last weekend's demolition of midtable Reggina, had lifted Inter to fourth in the division.
The persistent charge against Zaccheroni's predecessor Hector Cuper was that Inter had failed to win any of its matches against direct title contenders.
Now, with team morale at its lowest ebb for a month, Zaccheroni must try to reverse that trend.
His task is complicated by injuries to central defender Marco Materazzi, midfielder Emre Belozoglu and striker Alvaro Recoba.
Juventus, meanwhile, arrive on the back of 16 games without defeat - a run that has allowed them to progress smoothly to the top of Serie A and into the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Italian international Alessandro Del Piero is fully recovered from a thigh injury and looks set to start alongside David Trezeguet in attack.
Even if neither hit the target, Juve coach Marcello Lippi can count on in-form supersub Marco Di Vaio, who is the team's joint top league scorer, with seven goals in 10 appearances this season.
soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=284518&cc=5739
Inter's 5-1 Champions League defeat against the English club on Tuesday came at a point when new coach Alberto Zaccheroni had started putting together an impressive series of results.
Ten points from their last four Serie A matches, no goals conceded and eleven scored, including six in last weekend's demolition of midtable Reggina, had lifted Inter to fourth in the division.
The persistent charge against Zaccheroni's predecessor Hector Cuper was that Inter had failed to win any of its matches against direct title contenders.
Now, with team morale at its lowest ebb for a month, Zaccheroni must try to reverse that trend.
His task is complicated by injuries to central defender Marco Materazzi, midfielder Emre Belozoglu and striker Alvaro Recoba.
Juventus, meanwhile, arrive on the back of 16 games without defeat - a run that has allowed them to progress smoothly to the top of Serie A and into the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Italian international Alessandro Del Piero is fully recovered from a thigh injury and looks set to start alongside David Trezeguet in attack.
Even if neither hit the target, Juve coach Marcello Lippi can count on in-form supersub Marco Di Vaio, who is the team's joint top league scorer, with seven goals in 10 appearances this season.
soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=284518&cc=5739