Parma's players and fans alike will look at this match as if it was a derby. They always save their best for this match, specially Nakata - who pretty much is still furious of Juve, who let him leave the club after briefly training with the Primavera as a 17-year old.
Anyway, Parma will have the luxury of resting most of their starters on Wednesday night, whereas our players will be busy representing their national teams, leaving Lippi with only a handful of fit players to train with. Another advantage for Parma - not to mention playing at home - is that they are not commited to any European matches the following week, so with no distractions around they will be fully focused on this match. Juve will always have Man. Utd at the back of their heads.
In the first match played at the Delle Alpi, Parma were leading 2-0 with goals from Nakata and Adriano before our incredible comeback in the final 3 minutes with a Tudor header and a controversial Del Piero goal scored deep in injury time. Parma played a superb match, specially in the second half, giving us plenty of problems with their quick counterattacks. We need to be careful and patient.
We should also keep an eye on Mutu, he has scored 2 goals in the previous week and always looks impressive against big teams. Our defenders must minimize the damage created by him, especially when playing down the right wing, so Pessoto should also be careful.
All eyes will be on Di Vaio, as this will be his first match at the Tardini as an opponent. I'm not sure how Parma fans will welcome him, but I hope he finally delivers, scores a goal or 2, and have a decent overall match. He did considerabley well against Empoli last week - specially that neat bicycle kick that hit the sidenet - but still not good enough compared to his own standards.
Parma-Juve matches are always controversialy entertaining packed matches. So, I hope this time it doesn't get any different only with us winning this time
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Inter plays away to Chievo, whereas Milan welcomes Lazio. Ofcourse, the best-case scenario will be us beating Parma, and Inter,Lazio,Milan, Chievo all dropping 2 points if both matches ended in draws.
Anyway, Parma will have the luxury of resting most of their starters on Wednesday night, whereas our players will be busy representing their national teams, leaving Lippi with only a handful of fit players to train with. Another advantage for Parma - not to mention playing at home - is that they are not commited to any European matches the following week, so with no distractions around they will be fully focused on this match. Juve will always have Man. Utd at the back of their heads.
In the first match played at the Delle Alpi, Parma were leading 2-0 with goals from Nakata and Adriano before our incredible comeback in the final 3 minutes with a Tudor header and a controversial Del Piero goal scored deep in injury time. Parma played a superb match, specially in the second half, giving us plenty of problems with their quick counterattacks. We need to be careful and patient.
We should also keep an eye on Mutu, he has scored 2 goals in the previous week and always looks impressive against big teams. Our defenders must minimize the damage created by him, especially when playing down the right wing, so Pessoto should also be careful.
All eyes will be on Di Vaio, as this will be his first match at the Tardini as an opponent. I'm not sure how Parma fans will welcome him, but I hope he finally delivers, scores a goal or 2, and have a decent overall match. He did considerabley well against Empoli last week - specially that neat bicycle kick that hit the sidenet - but still not good enough compared to his own standards.
Parma-Juve matches are always controversialy entertaining packed matches. So, I hope this time it doesn't get any different only with us winning this time
Inter plays away to Chievo, whereas Milan welcomes Lazio. Ofcourse, the best-case scenario will be us beating Parma, and Inter,Lazio,Milan, Chievo all dropping 2 points if both matches ended in draws.
