The latest edition of the famous Derby della Mole pits eternal rivals Juventus and Torino against each other at the Allianz Stadium this Saturday. Let’s look at our match preview for this contest.
Despite only barely salvaging a point in a tepid 0-0 draw against Atalanta last weekend, Massimiliano Allegri claimed he was ‘happy with the result and performance.’ But the truth is – Juventus had Wojciech Szczesny to thank for leaving Bergamo unscratched. If it weren’t for the Polish goalkeeper, they would’ve probably suffered their second defeat of 2023/24.
Carried through by Szczesny’s stellar showing, Juventus maintained their indifferent run of one win across their last three Serie A matches (W1, D1, L1). That hasn’t stopped them from starting this round inside the top four with 14 points on the board, only four adrift of joint-pacesetters Inter and Milan. The upcoming derby comes at a perfect time for Bianconeri.
Given Torino’s perennial struggles in this fixture, manager Ivan Juric would be forgiven for refraining from high expectations this weekend. You’d need to go all the way back to 1995 for the last time Granata defeated Juventus in an away league meeting. Then, there’s their recent dip in form.
After back-to-back wins ‘to nil’ over Genoa and Salernitana, Torino have gone three consecutive Serie A games without winning (D2, L1). On top of that, they lost 2-0 at Lazio on their last league travel before drawing 0-0 at home against Hellas Verona earlier this week, casting further doubt on their scoring potential.
Match Preview
Juventus
A dismal 4-2 defeat at Sassuolo just over a week ago spoiled a fee-good factor at Juventus. Despite their best effort, Allegri’s men have struggled to recover, with injuries to several key players, including Dusan Vlahovic, hardly playing into their hands. A narrow 1-0 home triumph against Lecce last midweek lacked conviction.
By contrast, Juventus have reigned supreme against Torino, especially on home turf. They have racked up a jaw-dropping 19-game unbeaten home streak against fierce cross-city rivals (W14, D5). Last season’s encounter produced a thrilling contest as Bianconeri fought back twice to run out 4-2 victors.
Player to Watch: Federico Chiesa
In addition to being in superb form at the start of the season, Chiesa enjoys playing against Torino. The quicksilver winger has tallied seven goal contributions across his 12 previous appearances against Granata. It’s also worth noting he only lost once in that period (W8, D3).
Torino
Torino’s perennial scoring struggles continue to haunt them this season. Among sides to start this round in the upper half of the table, no one laments a worse scoring record than Granata’s disappointing six-goal haul. That’s not to mention 50% of those goals came in a 3-0 romping of Salernitana.
Torino failed to find the net more than once in any of their six remaining Serie A outings this term. With that in mind, it’s a bit off that their three away league games this season have been settled via multiple-goal margins (W1, L2). With two of those matches seeing the winner score 2+ first-half goals, an action-packed start wouldn’t be a surprise.
Player to Watch: Duvan Zapata
Zapata’s the man for a big occasion. His only goal for Torino rescued a 1-1 draw against Roma. But what qualifies him for our ‘Player to Watch’ section are his outstanding scoring exploits against Juventus. He was on the scoresheet eight times against Bianconeri as an Atalanta player.
Team News
Vlahovic’s injury isn’t the only problem at Allegri’s plate coming into the derby day. Alex Sandro, Arkadiusz Milik, and Mattia De Sciglio are also out with fitness problems. Paul Pogba is another high-profile absentee, but that’s nothing new.
As for Torino, Alessandro Buongiorno and Koffi Djidji are on the sidelines with injuries. The same goes for second-string goalkeeper Mihai Popa. But the rest of Juric’s squad will show up at the Allianz Stadium, including Ivan Ilic, who has recently struggled with minor fitness issues.
Juventus vs Torino Potential Lineups
Juventus (3-5-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Federico Gatti, Gleison Bremer, Danilo; Weston McKennie, Nicolo Fagioli, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Andrea Cambiaso; Federico Chiesa, Moise Kean.
Torino (3-4-2-1): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Perr Schuurs, Adrien Tameze, Ricardo Rodriguez; Raoul Bellanova, Ivan Ilic, Samuele Ricci, Valentino Lazaro; Nikola Vlasic, Nemanja Radonjic; Zapata.
Juventus vs Torino Prediction
Since only Inter and Bologna boast more clean sheets than Juventus and Torino this season, it stands to reason that a low-scoring contest could be in store. Scoring hasn’t been the strong suit of either side, so we expect a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Draw
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