Milan (AFP)

A derby from Italy, but almost without noise: the shock Juventus-Inter and the alignment matches of the 26th day of Serie A will be turned upside down Sunday and Monday by the epidemic of new coronavirus, which led the Italian authorities to impose a general closed door.

Scheduled last weekend, the duel between bianconeri and nerazzuri will therefore finally take place Sunday away from almost all eyes, in accordance with the decree published Wednesday by the Italian government to contain the spread of Covid-19.

It will be the same for all other sporting events until April 3, Italy being, with 4,636 cases for 197 dead, the European country most affected by the epidemic.

- Temperature scanners -

Sunday, an unusual silence should greet the return of Antonio Conte, who promised yet to be eventful, in Turin. The Italian coach of Inter wore the Juve jersey for thirteen years before becoming the coach, allowing the club to win three scudetti.

Only 500 people will ultimately be able to witness this shock at the summit, while almost 40,000 passionate supporters would undoubtedly have animated the stands of the Allianz Stadium.

Friday, Serie A promulgated a series of new measures to eliminate any risk of contamination. They include in particular a compulsory passage by a scanner intended to measure the temperature for all the "happy few" who will be able to attend the matches. Among them, the journalists will have to keep between them a space of at least two meters, and there will be no interviews in mixed zone nor press conference before or after the meetings.

Sports side, the date changes but the stake remains the same for one of the most awaited meetings of the year and which often unleashes the passions between tifosi of the two camps.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus, barely recovered from their surprise defeat in the knockout stages of the Champions League in Lyon (1-0) on February 27, has a lot to lose this weekend against Inter.

Already weakened, the "Old Lady" saw herself, due to the delay of the meetings of the last weekend, dispossessed of her place of leader of the Italian championship by Lazio Rome, which connects the victories for a few weeks, and beat Bologna ( 2-0) on February 29 to go ahead, with two points ahead of the bianconeri.

This putsch may remain only temporary, provided that Maurizio Sarri's men prevail against their great Milanese rivals.

A task all the more arduous as the Juventus star, Cristiano Ronaldo, may have his head elsewhere. The Portuguese had to go urgently to Madeira this week at the bedside of his mother, victim of a stroke.

But the key, it may be the championship that is played, while Inter (3rd) is only 6 lengths behind Juve, who has recorded three defeats and a draw in its last seven meetings .

- Ignore the context -

Inter for its part will arrive with the desire to do battle. Evidenced by the irritation of its president, Steven Zhang, who had called the boss of the Italian League, Paolo Dal Pino, "clown" when the announcement of the postponement of the match.

A reaction that did not fail to provoke an angry response from several other Italian clubs. "What we all want to do is protect people's health, but also move the season forward," said Roma CEO Guido Fienga.

The last and only nerazzuri victory at Allianz Stadium dates back to 2012, while the Turin stadium has often appeared as an impregnable fortress since its inauguration in 2011: this season in 12 home games, Juventus have won 11 times for a loser.

But without its tifosi to wear it, the atmosphere may not be the same for the Old Lady.

"There is a risk that the minds of players will automatically go into training mode," commented sport psychologist Alberto Cei on Friday at Gazzetta Dello Sport. It is therefore up to Sarri, who is increasingly criticized after the last disappointing performances of his team, to know how to re-mobilize his troops to ignore the context.

In the other meetings of the weekend, AC Milan (7th) of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will also receive, in front of empty stands, the Genoa, 18th and relegation. Other teams in danger, the promoted Brescia (19th) and SPAL (20th) will also have no room for error, in Sassuolo (12th) and Parma (9th).

Program for the 26th offset day of Serie A:

Sunday:

(12:30 p.m.) Parma-SPAL

(3:00 p.m.) AC Milan - Genoa

Sampdoria Genoa - Hellas Verona

(6:00 p.m.) Udinese - Fiorentina

(8:45 p.m.) Juventus Turin - Inter Milan

On Monday:

(6.30 p.m.) Sassuolo - Brescia

Already played:

Lazio Rome - Bologna 2-0

Napoli - Torino 2-1

Lecce - Atalanta Bergamo 2-7

Cagliari - AS Rome 3-4

© 2020 AFP