Coaches play down significance of Inter-Juve clash
Neither Simone Inzaghi nor Massimiliano Allegri would be drawn into hyping up the clash between their Inter Milan and Juventus sides as a possible title decider as the teams placed first and second in Serie A prepare to do battle on Monday (AEDT).
Inzaghi's Inter and Allegri's Juventus have been swapping top spot between each other in recent weeks after a resurgent Bianconeri made up ground, although Inter – the current leader on 54 points, one ahead of second-placed Juve – does have a game in hand.
"Tomorrow's match is very important, but it won't decide anything," Inzaghi said ahead of the game.
"We have to look ahead, though; we want to win this match. I don't want to make comparisons, though. There are still four months to go and it's not a match that will decide things.
"We have played against Juventus many times over the years, we have had very important finals, league matches, Coppa Italia finals, each match has its own story."
Inzaghi wouldn't add pressure to his side by calling it the favourite for the fixture, despite it playing at San Siro and coming into the game off the back of a five-match winning run.
"There's been a lot of talk about favourites; we are Inter and we know we have a huge responsibility in every game. We have already provided 30 very positive matches," he added.
Allegri was not more forthcoming in his comments about the match.
"It's not a decisive turning point, with three points you can recover and lose them in a few games. We have to get the points to get to the Champions League, which is our goal of the season," Allegri said.
"We have great respect for Inter because they are the strongest team in the league and favourites for the Scudetto.
"There are still many games to go, football is full of unexpected events. You have to have balance, the most difficult thing is managing the moments of difficulty that occur throughout the season."
