Juventus Faces Inter in Pre-Season Derby d’Italia

Luciano Spalletti is under no illusion about the mountain his Juventus side must climb. On the eve of a pre-season Derby d’Italia in Perth, the coach looked straight at the summit and pointed to the same familiar peak.

“Inter are the strongest side in our league,” he said. No dressing it up. No attempt to shift the pressure. Just a clear marker of where Juventus stand and where they intend to go.

A Derby d’Italia with homework attached

Saturday’s friendly in Australia, kicking off at 12.00 BST (21.00 local time), is officially a pre-season showcase. Spalletti treats it more like an exam paper.

“These are the sorts of games that help you understand a lot about the mentality of the team and whether or not we’re working in the right direction,” he told reporters. Inter, he stressed, demand absolute concentration.

“Inter are a very strong team like Chelsea, so we will need to be a team in every moment of the game because Inter will find advantages if we’re not compact.”

That word – compact – has followed Spalletti throughout his career. It underpins his vision for a Juventus side still being reshaped after a turbulent period and a busy summer window. Inter, the benchmark, arrive as the perfect measuring stick. Pre-season or not, the coach wants answers.

Yildiz to be given more responsibility

One of the big questions around this new Juventus concerns Kenan Yildiz. The young attacker has become a symbol of the club’s future, and every minute he plays is scrutinised.

Spalletti confirmed that Yildiz will see more of the pitch against Inter than he did in the recent friendly against Chelsea in Hong Kong.

“He will play more than he did in the game against Chelsea,” Spalletti said, before lifting the lid on a squad already feeling the weight of a demanding tour. “We were without three or four players in training today to manage their workloads and the fatigue that is accumulating. It’s not easy to organise these sorts of events. They take extra effort and we’ll have to discuss it over the next few days to see how we’ve recovered.

“I will see after the game tomorrow whether he will be a starter (in the league), but I think I will let him play for a half, or almost a half.”

No promises, but a clear indication: Yildiz is moving closer to the heart of Spalletti’s plans, and Inter will be part of that audition.

Circati admiration, but no move

The market inevitably crept into the conversation. Juventus have been linked with Parma centre-back Alessandro Circati, one of Serie A’s more intriguing young defenders.

Spalletti didn’t hide his appreciation. He also didn’t pretend a deal is close.

“He’s a promising young player who has shown a lot of great qualities and he could also be of interest to any club,” he said. “But right now, we only have a couple of strong routes in our sights and those do not concern him. We can’t create alternative situations at the moment because we have a very large squad.”

The message is blunt: Juventus like Circati, but their priorities are set. With numbers already swollen, this is not the moment to chase every opportunity. The rebuild has a defined track, and Spalletti is intent on staying on it.

Life after Vlahovic: goals by committee

If there is a fault line running through this Juventus, it sits up front. Dusan Vlahovic has gone, and with him the traditional, guaranteed goal reference point. In his place: Randal Kolo Muani, Jeff Ekhator and Kerim Alajbegovic.

The obvious question followed: does this squad lack a 20-goal striker?

Spalletti pushed back.

“I think we’ve signed players who collectively will be able to exceed those numbers,” he replied. “It’s not important to have somebody who scores 20 goals. This year, the season will be characterised by the fact that it will be played on Thursdays and Sundays, it will be difficult to always play with the same players.

“The Europa League engages you even more than the Champions League. Even without a physical centre-forward, we have Ekhator who has a few of those characteristics, Kolo Muani commands the area. It’s a bit of an open situation, but with the players we have available, with what we’ve done on the market, we’ll be able to make up for it through everyone’s collective work.

“Alajbegovic is somebody who can score goals. We want to help Kolo Muani’s numbers. We’re quite calm for the moment.”

The plan is clear: rotation, flexibility, and shared responsibility. Rather than building the attack around a single finisher, Spalletti wants an aggressive, interchangeable front line that can survive the grind of Europa League Thursdays and Serie A Sundays.

Calm, in this context, doesn’t mean complacent. It means conviction in a design that spreads the load.

Bastoni, old wounds and a new test

No meeting with Inter passes without a little history. The last clash between these sides left a sour taste after Alessandro Bastoni’s involvement in Pierre Kalulu’s wrongful sending off, followed by a celebration that ignited controversy.

Spalletti was asked if any resentment lingers.

“It will be simple, we will continue to do what we did after that game,” he said. “We didn’t create any big aftermath, we didn’t talk about the players’ behaviour on the pitch. We just want to play a good game against the strongest side in our league and learn as many things as possible to get to their level.”

No war of words. No fuel on the fire. The only response Spalletti wants is tactical, not emotional.

On Saturday in Perth, the scoreboard will not define Juventus’ season. The performance might. Against the team he still calls “the strongest in our league”, Spalletti is not just chasing a result; he is looking for proof that his Juventus are finally starting to look Inter in the eye.