European football: Inter Milan prepare for Juventus
Last season, under José Mourinho, Inter Milan stormed to an historic treble in arguably the club’s most glorious campaign. Following in the footsteps of the Portuguese coach was never going to be a straightforward challenge, but Rafael Benitez is doing a pretty good job of making it look easy.
Currently on top of the Serie A table with 10 points from his first five league matches in charge at the San Siro, Inter are favourites to land their sixth consecutive league title.
However, after slipping up against AS Roma last weekend, Benitez and the Nerazzurri have a point to prove. And a home victory against Juventus this Sunday would be the perfect response.
With Samuel Eto’o scoring for fun again this season – the Cameroon international netted a sensational hat-trick against Werder Bremen midweek – Benitez is equipped with a truly world class goalscorer in his ranks, who could be the difference between the two sides on Sunday.
Inter’s great rivals, AC Milan, are in action on Saturday against Parma at the Stadio Ennio Tardini. The Rossoneri have enough world class attackers in their squad to outscore any team in the league, but getting them to gel is proving somewhat problematic for coach Massimiliano Allegri.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has already found his goalscoring touch, though. The Swedish international, on loan from Barcelona, has five goals in his first six matches and will look to fire Milan to the top of the league – temporarily, at least.
Ibrahimovic’s parent club are in action against Mallorca at the Nou Camp on Sunday. The Spanish champions welcome back Lionel Messi, who featured in the club’s 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan on Wednesday, and will be confident of recording their fifth league victory of the campaign with their star man in tow.
Real Madrid could only draw 0-0 with Mallorca at the end of last season. Mourinho’s men are one point behind Barca in fourth place and face relegation-threatened Deportivo La Coruna at the Bernabeu on Sunday night.
But arguably the biggest clash of the weekend in the Primera Liga takes place at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. Hosts Sevilla welcome Atletico Madrid to Andalusia in a match which has whet the appetite of neutrals and supporters alike, while league leaders Valencia face Athletic Bilbao 24 hours earlier.
Over in Germany, all eyes will be on Mainz, who take on Hoffenheim at the Rhein-Neckar Arena. After beating Bayern Munich last weekend - in Munich - Mainz have won all six of their opening matches and are currently cruising in the Bundesliga.
Like their opponents, Hoffenheim, during the 2008/09 season, Mainz have shocked everyone by topping the league table. Only time will tell whether they can last the distance, but a victory against Hoffenheim would certainly be a real statement of intent.
Meanwhile, second place Borussia Dortmund host Bayern on Sunday. An away win could provide the kick-start that Bayern are desperately crying out for. Louis van Gaal’s side have only won two of their first six matches and find themselves 10 points behind the league leaders already.
And in France’s Ligue 1, Lyon’s under-pressure manager Claude Puel could be handed the dreaded vote of confidence – or worse - this weekend if his struggling side are beating by Nancy. Lyon haven’t won in the league since mid-August and sit uncomfortably third from bottom.
But at the other end of the table, leaders St Etienne host the revered Marseille. St Etienne manager, Christophe Galtier, knows Marseille inside and out having played for them and managed them. The club have exceeded expectations in France at the start of this season; however, nothing would inspire them with the belief that they could really win the league title more than a win over Didier Deschamps’ men.
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