Post by Taxigirl on Nov 28, 2003 18:11:29 GMT
The home game against Inter on Saturday is not a must win clash for Juventus says boss Marcello Lippi.
The Italian champions need a victory to maintain their Serie A leadership but the tactician is keen to not increase the importance of the Delle Alpi clash.
"It won’t be a decisive game at all," said the former Inter boss. "We are playing a direct title rival but we’ve drawn both our games against Scudetto contenders this term.
"We only collected a point from the Milan and Roma games but we are still top of the League. That underlines my theory."
Juventus are highly fancied to collect a win tomorrow, especially after Inter’s 5-1 collapse at the San Siro on Tuesday.
"It won’t be easy," added Lippi. "Inter will come here looking for a win and we must try to limit their offensive threat.
"They are a strong side and played well against Arsenal for an hour. They only started to struggle when they went down to 10 men.
"In their last four League games they’ve collected 10 points. That’s the same as us and Roma so they deserve to be respected."
When asked on his starting XI for the Derby d’Italia, Lippi was playing his cards close to his chest.
"I’ll make substantial changes to the side that won 2-1 at Siena on Tuesday," he said. "At least eight or nine players will rotate."
It’s unclear at this stage who he will field alongside David Trezeguet in attack. Will it be Alex Del Piero or the in-form Marco Di Vaio?
