Juve can cope with San Siro pressure, says Delneri

Juventus coach Luigi Delneri insists his side have what it takes to cope with the pressure of playing in the San Siro when they tackle champions and leaders Inter Milan on Sunday.

Juve are just three points behind Inter despite an erratic start to the season that has seen them score the most goals in Serie A whilst also boasting the equal worst defence in the league.

But Delneri has no concerns ahead of the ‘Derby d’Italia’.

“We have players who are used to big challenges, I don’t think we will suffer from playing at the San Siro,” he said on Saturday.

“Many of our new players have already played big international games.

“This is the most important game of this period of my career.

“In the last two weeks we’ve played many games, picking up knocks. But it’s given us top physical conditioning, although the psychological factor is also important.”

Inter come into the game off an impressive 4-0 thrashing of Werder Bremen in the Champions League, while Juve earned a decent 1-1 draw away to Manchester City in the Europa League.

But although the hosts must be considered the favourites, Delneri said he would not settle for a draw.

“We are two great teams of stature, it’s a particular game and there’s a lot of antagonism,” said the coach.

“I would never take a draw (before a game started). Every match is an exam, we’ll try to play well and we’ll be wary of our opponents as we try to improve.

“We’ll try to get an advantage through aggression but also technique. Inter have great ball-players.”

With a near full-strength squad to chose from, Delneri revealed he will likely start with Brazilian-born Italy striker Amauri up front while on-loan Alberto Aquilani, rather than Claudio Marchisio, will partner Felipe Melo in midfield.