Sunday’s Serie A action kicks off in Turin as Juventus welcome Sampdoria to the Allianz Stadium, and it’s time to preview the game and take a look at the expected lineups. The sides have experienced identical fortunes across their inaugural five league fixtures this season and are both hovering in the bottom half of the table.
Massimiliano Allegri’s return to the helm in the summer has yet to produce the desired effects as Juventus continue to struggle in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure. With the prospect of exiting the Serie A title race already this month looming, the Bianconeri can ill-afford another slip-up here.
Juventus vs Sampdoria Head-to-Head
Sampdoria’s visit to Turin is likely to bring back fond memories within the Bianconeri faithful, with Juventus winning their last six Serie A encounters here by an aggregate score of 19-2. Home and away, the hosts have won four consecutive league H2Hs, notably netting 2+ goals on each occasion.
Speaking of Juventus’ recent dominance against Sampdoria, Allegri’s men have kept three consecutive Serie A clean sheets against this opposition. They could make it four in a row for the first time since May 1977.
Since a goalless draw in January 2008, Juventus have found the net in each of their subsequent 12 home league matches against Sampdoria, averaging 2.83 goals per game. Juve’s imperious recent H2H record should be a massive confidence booster as they look to bounce back from an underwhelming seasonal start.
Juventus Form Preview
Juventus picked themselves up from a 2-1 deficit to beat Spezia 3-2 on the road in midweek and register their maiden Serie A victory under returning boss Allegri. However, a run of four consecutive league matches without winning (D2, L2) beforehand puts the record-time Italian champions a staggering 11 points behind current table-toppers Milan.
Worryingly, since a 3-0 home win over Spezia in early March, Juventus have gone 19 straight Serie A fixtures without a clean sheet. They are only two games away from equalling the club’s longest run without a shutout in their top-flight history, conceding at least once in 21 straight league matches in 1955.
Giorgio Chiellini and co will be keen to snap that streak on their manager’s landmark day. Indeed, Allegri will make his 400th managerial appearance in Serie A. Since the Italian strategist’s debut in the competition back in 2008/09, no other manager has achieved more top-flight victories than the ex-Milan coach (243).
Paulo Dybala, who failed to leave his mark in Juve’s abovementioned midweek success at Spezia, could return to the scoreboard this time around. The Argentine forward has tallied seven Serie A goals against Sampdoria, only scoring more against Udinese (9) in the competition.
Sampdoria Form Preview
Sampdoria succumbed to a dreadful 4-0 defeat to Napoli at the Luigi Ferris on Thursday, undoing last weekend’s 3-0 thumping victory over newly-promoted Empoli. La Samp‘s topsy-turvy start to this Serie A campaign (W1, D2, L2) puts them only two points clear of the relegation zone ahead of the kick-off.
On the bright side, though, the visitors have registered three consecutive away clean sheets in Serie A. The last time they managed to put together four straight top-flight shutouts on the road was in November 2004. But it’s worth noting that none of those three clean sheets came against the sides that finished inside the top seven last season.
Roberto D’Aversa has to be wary of his side’s growing goalscoring problems, with Sampdoria drawing a blank in three of their five Serie A fixtures this term. By contrast, the Genoa-based outfit netted 2+ goals in the remaining two league matches, including a heroic 2-2 home draw with reigning champions Inter a fortnight ago.
It will likely be up to in-form striker Francesco Caputo to shoulder Sampdoria’s scoring burden in Turin. The 34-year-old marksman netted a brace in his side’s most recent Serie A game on the road and has racked up three goals in his five career appearances against Juventus.
Juventus vs Sampdoria Predicted Lineups
Juventus (4-4-2): Mattia Perin; Alex Sandro, Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Mattia de Sciglio; Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Federico Chiesa; Paulo Dybala, Moise Kean.
Sampdoria (4-4-2): Emil Audero; Tommaso Augello, Maya Yoshida, Omar Colley, Bartosz Bereszynski; Mikkel Damsgaard, Adrien Silva, Albin Ekdal, Antonio Candreva; Francesco Caputo, Fabio Quagliarella.