This Sunday, Serie A returns with a bang following the last international break of the year.
The Italian league resumes with a top-of-the-table showdown between Juventus and Inter at the Allianz Stadium.
The Bianconeri are the only club that has been able to keep pace with the Nerazzurri thus far. With only two points separating the two arch-rivals, the first Derby d’Italia of the season has been painted as a direct Scudetto showdown.
But unfortunately for Manuel Locatelli, he might have to sit this one out. The Italian suffered a rib fracture in his last outing against Cagliari, so he ended up missing Italy’s last two Euro 2024 qualifiers.
According to ilBianconero, Juventus aren’t optimistic about Locatelli’s recovery. The player is likely to skip the much-anticipated encounter.
Nevertheless, there are positive updates concerning Fabio Miretti and Weston McKennie. The young midfielder was suffering from pain in the lower back which prevented him from joining the Italy U21 camp.
For his part, the American returned prematurely from international duty after sustaining a knock, but his return was considered as a precautionary measure.
Therefore, Miretti and McKennie could both feature in the midfield trio while Adrien Rabiot operates in a slightly deeper role.
The Frenchman usually plays as a box-to-box midfielder, but with Locatelli possibly unavailable, he would act as a Regista, playing in between Miretti and McKennie.
The report doesn’t mention Hans Nicolussi Caviglia who recently made his season debut in a brief cameo against Cagliari. So the 23-year-old should yet again start on the bench.
