On Sunday evening, Inter will host Juventus at the San Siro for the first Derby d’Italia edition of the season. While Thiago Motta is no stranger to this fixture, it will be his first both as a manager and as a part of the Black-and-White party.

The 42-year-old is coming off his first defeat since his arrival in Turin as the Bianconeri surprisingly came short against Stuttgart. Therefore, he’ll be eager to avoid a second loss in a row, as it would signal the start of a negative stretch.

And yet, this away contest against his former employers will certainly be his toughest test as a Juventus coach thus far. So will he manage to overcome the odds and topple Simone Inzaghi’s side?

Here are three aspects that could help Juventus come out with a positive result at the Giuseppe Meazza.

Pressing Asllani

While Juventus will be without important figures like Gleison Bremer and Teun Koopmeiners, Inter also have some important absentees of their own, and chief among them is Hakan Calhanoglu.

The Turkish midfielder is arguably the one player Inzaghi struggles to replace. The Nerazzurri pride themselves on having a supreme squad with two competent options for every role. Nevertheless, the young Kristjan Asllani remains a far cry from Calhanoglu.

Therefore, the Bianconeri must try to make the most out of the opportunity by pressing high against the Albanian who will act as the deep-lying playmaker, and thus try to force a mistake out of him.

Tactical Discipline

Inter will certainly have the edge in quality overall, but Juventus can make up for it by remaining fully disciplined and on alert, especially in the defensive phase.

For instance, the right winger must make sure he tracks back so Federico Dimarco and Alessandro Bastoni don’t double up on the right-back.

Moreover, Federico Gatti and Pierre Kalulu must resist the temptation to chase Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram all over the pitch and allow them to create gaps in the backline for the likes of Nicolo Barella to exploit.

All in all, discipline, tenacity and patience are the keys.

Pace in the Final Third

Perhaps Inter might have more quality in the feet, but the Bianconeri can outpace their opponents, especially in the final third where Dusan Vlahovic will be up against Stefan de Vrij.

The Serbian will certainly have an edge in speed over the Dutch defender, but the key is to create a game situation where he can capitalize on this advantage.

Naturally, Juve’s best bet would be counter-attacks that catch the reigning champions off guard, with the likes of Alessandro Bastoni and Benjamin Pavard too far to support de Vrij.

So it remains to be seen if Motta’s men would be able to pull off similar scenarios.