This Sunday sees the two Serie A title favourites go toe-to-toe, as Inter Milan and Juventus clash. Turin giants Juventus have dominated Italian football this decade but Inter, under new owners, are looking to lessen Juve’s grip on the Scudetto title and bring some glory years back to Milan.
It’s been a while since fans of either San Siro side has had anything to shout about, with AC Milan also underperforming in recent seasons, but Inter have a strong chance this term of success. With the likes of Mauro Icardi and young Gabriel Barbosa leading the line, they boast one of the strongest attacks in the league.
However, Juventus are a class apart on paper at least. Relatively unbeatable in recent seasons, storming to success after success, the Old Lady still managed to bolster their squad in the summer with the additions of Miralim Pjanic and Gonzalo Higuain- lessening the blow of losing Paul Pogba to Manchester United.
It’s certainly not an easy task dissecting these two sides and coming up with a combined XI but we relish a challenge. Let us know your teams in the comments below!
Whilst the rest of the team isn’t easy to choose from, there was only one man we could select in goal: Gianluigi Buffon. The Italian football icon is one of the best goalkeepers in football history and, despite being 38-years-old, he continues to shine at the very top of the game and has been an integral part of Juventus’ rise back to the top after the scandal that rocked Italian football a decade ago.
The pairing in central-defence was also relatively easy to choose, as we went for Juventus’ rock-solid duo of Georgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci; who are crucial for both club and country. Widely regarded to be the best defensive partnership in the world, the experienced duo walk their way into our side.
On the flanks, we’ve gone for two experienced players and one from both sides. Representing Inter Milan on the left is Argentine as Cristian Ansaldi, who is a new signing at the San Siro following a successful loan spell with Genoa last season, whilst another Serie A new boy, Dani Alves, features on the right. Having won everything he can get his hands on with Barcelona, the Brazilian full-back will be looking for additional success in a new league this term.
In midfield, the central pair also features two experienced heads in Inter’s Ever Banega and Juventus’ Sami Khedira. Banega is another new face at Inter, having arrived from Sevilla, and his experiences winning two consecutive Europa League crowns will be vital to Inter’s push for glory. Khedira, meanwhile, has put behind injury problems in recent years to fill the void left by Arturo Vidal last summer.
Out the right side, Juan Cuadrado features having found his feet in Italy following a disappointing spell with Chelsea. He became a fan-favourite at the club last season following his loan move and will look to enjoy the same respect from the fans this term after making his switch to Turin permanent in the summer.
On the left, we’ve opted for another of Inter’s new faces; Antonio Candreva. With 150 Serie A appearances with Lazio under his belt, Candreva arrives in Milan with a strong reputation in Italian football that should help the club reach their aspirations in the coming years- especially if he creates a partnership with Inter’s talented attack.
Speaking of the attack, the two names featuring for our side were extremely easy to pick. Gonzalo Higuain, having scored 71 goals in 104 Serie A appearances for Napoli, is destined to become a superstar in Turin and should storm the goalscoring charts this season- although he faces competition from his strike-partner in this combined XI.
Completing the attack is Inter Milan’s young captain, Mauro Icardi. Just 23-years-old, Icardi has already scored fifty goals in Serie A for Inter and is one of the finest strikers under the age of 25 in world football. His capability of carrying the armband for such a big club is testament to his maturity and he’s definitely one to watch in the coming years.
The post Juventus & Inter Milan: Combined XI 2016/17 appeared first on Top Eleven's Football Blog.
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