Juventus are odds-on favorites to maintain their dream start to the new campaign as perennial Serie A strugglers Hellas Verona touch down at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening. Let’s look at our match preview for this contest.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side took full advantage of Malick Thiaw’s first-half red card in last weekend’s Serie A classic against Milan. Manuel Locatelli found the net against his former employers midway through the second half with a thunderous attempt from range, which took an awkward deflection off Rade Krunic, to hand Juventus a 1-0 win at the San Siro.
After three dreadful domestic seasons, Juventus seem capable of mounting a genuine Scudetto challenge this term. Bianconeri commence this round only two points adrift of table-topping Inter and will ascend to the summit with a win here, albeit only temporarily. Allegri will expect nothing less from his high-flying team against one of the division’s worst-performing sides.
Verona boss Marco Baroni had enjoyed a perfect start to life at the Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, kicking things off with back-to-back minimal victories over Roma and Empoli. However, the situation has got out of control, with Gialloblu going winless in all seven Serie A outings after a promising start (D2, L5).
Reigning Serie A champions Napoli humbled Baroni’s troubled troops 3-1 last weekend, leaving them only two points clear of 18th-placed Udinese. Verona’s flirt with the relegation zone will likely continue beyond Saturday unless they can muster the strength that led them to a 2-1 home triumph in October 2021.
Match Preview
Juventus
Since going down at the Bentegodi two years ago, Juventus have won three consecutive league encounters against Verona, including a brace of 1-0 triumphs last season. With that exact scoreline settling two of their three most recent Serie A victories, another tepid contest could be on the cards.
Allegri has never cared much about the aesthetics. His football philosophy has often infuriated Juventus fans. But they cannot complain about results, with Bianconeri heading into proceedings having racked up four successive clean sheets in the build-up. Indeed, only Inter (5) have conceded fewer goals than Allegri’s men (6) this term.
Player to Watch: Moise Kean
Although Dusan Vlahovic is back to full fitness, Kean deserves the benefit of the doubt. His goals decided both meetings between Juventus and Verona last season.
Hellas Verona
Verona must defy decades of history to get back on track. They’ve never won an away match against Juventus in the 66-year history of this fixture (D5, L31). It’s hard to expect them to break that duck this weekend, especially considering their dreadful form on hostile turf.
After overcoming Empoli in round one, Baroni’s men have suffered three defeats on their last three Serie A travels (D1). It’s also worth noting that Verona’s misfiring frontline only netted twice during that four-match sequence. In fact, their six-goal tally is the worst among the sides starting this matchday outside the drop zone.
Player to Watch: Lorenzo Montipo
With Verona likely to opt for damage control in Turin, Montipo will probably be under the spotlight. The Italian goalkeeper is no stranger to upsetting Juventus, having gone unbeaten in three of his six appearances against them (W2, D1, L3).
Team News
Federico Chiesa and Vlahovic both made cameo appearances against Milan last time out and will be in contention for the starting lineup on Saturday. But Juventus are still without Mattia De Sciglio, Alex Sandro, Danilo, Paul Pogba, and Nicolo Fagioli.
On the other hand, Verona will have to make further assessments of Isak Hien and Juan Cabal, while there’s a slight chance for Ajdin Hrustic to make the matchday squad for the first time this season. However, all would likely start on the bench.
Juventus vs Hellas Verona Potential Lineup
Juventus (3-5-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Federico Gatti, Gleison Bremer, Daniele Rugani; Timothy Weah, Weston McKennie, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic; Moise Kean, Dusan Vlahovic.
Hellas Verona (3-4-2-1): Lorenzo Montipo; Bruno Amione, Pawel Dawidowicz, Giangiacomo Magnani; Davide Faraoni, Ondrej Duda, Michael Folorunsho, Josh Doig; Darko Lazovic, Cyril Ngonge; Federico Bonazzoli.
Juventus vs Hellas Verona Prediction
Momentum and quality are firmly on Juventus’ side here as we back Allegri’s men to sink a below-par opposition, perhaps even at the expense of Baroni’s job. Another victory ‘to nil’ seems like a virtual certainty for the record-time Italian champions.
Prediction: Juventus Win
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