Juve afraid of losing says Ranieri

Inter manager Claudio Ranieri believes his former club Juventus are afraid of losing when the two sides meet in the so-called “Derby of Italy” tonight and says the pressure will be on the hosts in Turin.

Juve go into the fiercely-contested fixture chasing Milan at the top of the table and trail the league leaders by seven points going into today’s games.

Inter are down in seventh and three points off a European qualification position as well as seven behind Lazio in the third and final Champions League berth.

But despite the difference in league positions, Ranieri says traditional rivalry means Juve would view losing their unbeaten run to Inter as a worst-case scenario.

“I think Juventus are more under pressure because if they lose then they’ll fall further away from Milan,” said Ranieri. “And I think they also have the terror of losing their unbeaten run to Inter in their new stadium.

“We’re playing Juve now and Milan in our penultimate match, I think they will fight to the end for the title so we can tip the scales.”

Although Inter have been on a disastrous run recently with just one win in their last nine matches, Ranieri believes his side are feeling less strain going into the match.

“We’ve been lighter in the last few games, we’re ready to take on a Juve team that’s doing well,” he said.

“We’re not starting as favourites and that’s disappointing but it’s a big match and, as ever, we have to try to win it.

“But it’s not entirely true that we have nothing to lose, these are always must-win games.

“I would have preferred to be in their position and as Moratti said yesterday (Friday), I hope tomorrow’s game will give us the spark to do well until the end of the season.”