\n<\/p>\n
Out of all the Serie A draws that Juventus have been a part of this season \u2014 and there\u2019s been a lot so sometimes it\u2019s hard to keep track \u2014 there are few that have felt anything other than complete frustration. There have blown leads, scoreless efforts in front of goal, pretty much everything you can think of has gone into Juve dropping so many stinkin\u2019 points on their way to 13 draws in their first 24 league fixtures.<\/p>\n
But one of those is very much not like the other. There is one draw that has not felt like a total disappointment. Instead, very much the kind of draw that had you potentially hoping that maybe, just maybe, it was a sign this new-look squad could hang with the big boys once again.<\/p>\n
Since that insane Kenan Yildiz-inspired comeback and 4-4 draw with Inter Milan at the San Siro back in October, Juventus\u2019 season has not gone on the kind of trajectory that we hoped a result and fightback like we saw that night could kick into gear. Instead, the draws only continued to come at a more frequent pace, and certainly not in the same kind of fashion of the one against Inter.<\/p>\n
So now, with Inter competing for another Scudetto and Juventus very much now in a fight that could end up involving as many as four or five clubs to finish in fourth place and a Champions League position, they meet again as the venue shifts to the Allianz Stadium in Turin. It comes during a stretch in which Juventus have put back-to-back wins together in Serie A for just the third time this season but the overall performance level of Thiago Motta\u2019s squad still leaves plenty to be desired. Sunday night\u2019s matchup at the Allianz is very much one of the biggest remaining fixtures on the schedule and also a chance to show that they can actually claim a big win over a big club in Italy.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also this: On top of the back-to-back wins in Serie A, Juve have won three straight games in all competitions for the first time this season. That\u2019s not something you necessarily want to say about your team for the first time as we sit here in the middle of February, but that is the result of all of these damn draws stacking up on top of one another like they have for Juventus.<\/p>\n
Does that mean Juventus have started to put something together? At this point, it\u2019s pretty impossible to say because just when you think they might be starting to turn a corner they seem to always take another step or two back and we\u2019re left to wonder if they will ever kick into gear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team is doing well, winning always brings extra energy,\u201d Motta said at his pre-match press conference. \u201cI see the lads motivated and I also feel energized.\u201d<\/p>\n
What we do know is that while Juventus were playing yet another midweek fixture Tuesday night in the first leg of the Champions League play-off round against PSV Eindhoven, Inter players were likely kicking their feet up and enjoying a glass or two of a nice wine. Simone Inzaghi\u2019s side is the more rested squad, and that\u2019s even before Saturday\u2019s news that they\u2019ve received a big boost with leading scorer Marcus Thuram deemed fit to play after having to come off in their win over Fiorentina on Monday.<\/p>\n
That means another Thuram derby between Marcus\u2019 Inter and Khephren\u2019s Juve is very much in the cards, but it is not much of the storyline like it was the first time around in October.<\/p>\n
The main theme going into Sunday night really is if this little winning run Juventus currently find themselves on will prove to be the much-needed confidence this team has been lacking. A big fixture like this, one of the most-heated atmospheres Motta\u2019s squad will face the rest of this season, can either be a huge boost or \u2014 like what we saw last season around this time of the year \u2014 be a big blow to the confidence level of the entire squad.<\/p>\n
With Lazio holding Napoli to their third straight draw \u2014 hey look, somebody else can do that, too! \u2014 there is a chance Juventus can jump into fourth place with a win over the reigning Serie A champions. Whether Juve can do it or not is anybody\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n
But we know that, amidst all of the chaos, Juve can play even with Inter on a certain night. Yes, that was four months ago and so much has happened between then and now, but we don\u2019t have to look all that far back on Inter\u2019s schedule to show that they are beatable<\/a>.<\/p>\n So thank you, Fiorentina, for giving this guy a little bit more hope as compared to how I\u2019ve been feeling about Juventus\u2019 chances in this game for much of the 2025 calendar year.<\/p>\n