Cristian Chivu says Inter Milan 'a work in progress' ahead of Juventus test

Inter made a statement on the opening weekend by thrashing Torino 5-0, but that momentum was undone when they stumbled to a 2-1 home defeat against Udinese before the international break. The setback left Inter trailing Juventus, Napoli, Roma and Cremonese by three points, and defeat in Turin would deliver a damaging blow to their Scudetto ambitions.

Chivu, who won the treble as a player with Inter in 2010 under Jose Mourinho, admitted his side remain a work in progress. "We're a work in progress but we can't be that for very long. We weren't the best after our first match and we're not rubbish now. You can't change long-term habits in the space of a few weeks," he said after the Udinese loss.

The visit to Juventus comes before Inter's Champions League opener away at Ajax on Wednesday, beginning a punishing schedule that will test the depth of a squad refreshed over the summer. New arrivals Ange-Yoan Bonny and Petar Sucic, both in their early 20s, have been brought in to add energy and youth to the team.

Juventus, meanwhile, have opened the season strongly with back-to-back victories and are eyeing the chance to put early distance between themselves and one of their fiercest rivals.

Elsewhere, champions Napoli travel to Fiorentina where all eyes will be on Moise Kean, who is in fine form after scoring three times for Italy during the international break. New striker Rasmus Hojlund could also make his Serie A debut, having arrived from Manchester United to cover for the injured Romelu Lukaku.

Cremonese forward Jamie Vardy, now 38, could make his first start in Italy when his side face Verona on Monday. "It's obviously not down to me, I'd happily say yes, but that's definitely down to the manager," said Vardy, who is determined to show he is not winding down his career after scoring 200 goals in 500 matches for Leicester.

Fixtures

Saturday: Cagliari v Parma, Juventus v Inter Milan, Fiorentina v Napoli.

Sunday: Roma v Torino, Atalanta v Lecce, Pisa v Udinese, Sassuolo v Lazio, AC Milan v Bologna.

Monday: Verona v Cremonese, Como v Genoa.

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