Allianz Stadium sets the stage for Sunday’s handsomely-looking Serie A showdown between out-of-sorts Juventus and European hopefuls Fiorentina. Both teams are desperate for points, albeit for different reasons.
Juventus found a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel in midweek Coppa Italia action, claiming a 2-0 home win against Lazio in the first leg of their semi-final tie. After keeping their hopes of avoiding another trophyless campaign alive, Massimiliano Allegri’s men are looking to transfer their cup form to Serie A, where they’ve stuttered in 2024.
Last weekend, Lazio got the better of Juventus on Igor Tudor’s touchline debut, as Adam Marusic’s last-minute header settled an evenly-contested affair at the Stadio Olimpico. A 1-0 defeat in Rome marked Bianconeri’s second straight scoring blank in Serie A following a dismal 0-0 home draw against promoted Genoa on the stroke of March’s international break.
Demoted to third in the league standings, Juventus can no longer afford slip-ups, with fifth-placed Roma closing the gap to seven points. However, visiting Fiorentina might be in a more precarious situation than their hosts after a three-game winless Serie A streak (D2, L1) plunged them into mid-table.
Stranded three points below seventh-placed Lazio, La Viola must stem the bleeding to increase their chances of securing European football next season. Wednesday’s narrow 1-0 home triumph against Atalanta in their Coppa Italia semi-final tie was a step in the right direction, seeing Vincenzo Italiano’s side bounce back from a 1-0 home loss to Milan.
Match Preview
Juventus
Juventus head into this round frantically looking over the shoulders for the first time in a while after having won just one of their last nine league outings (D4, L4). The record-time Italian champions’ abysmal form in Serie A has caused division between the club supporters, with one portion of the stadium voicing their discontent at manager Allegri during the Coppa Italia game against Lazio.
Fiorentina’s visit to Turin is well-timed for the under-pressure coach, considering Juventus have emerged victorious from nine of their last ten home encounters against La Viola (L1). Since a disastrous 3-0 defeat in December 2020, they’ve won three consecutive such fixtures without conceding, with two of those triumphs yielding an identical 1-0 scoreline, highlighting the potential for a low-scoring contest.
Fiorentina
Like Juventus, Fiorentina will hope their Coppa Italia success could be a turning point as they bid to defy a woeful run of just one win from their last six Serie A matches (D3, L2). Nothing less would do for the Tuscan outfit, especially with direct European rivals Lazio stringing wins in the post-Maurizio Sarri era.
However, Fiorentina’s traveling form in 2024 can’t inspire much confidence. They’ve yet to win a league game on the road this year (D2, L3), losing to relegation-battling Sassuolo and Lecce in this sequence. As if that’s not troubling enough, the visitors have suffered defeats on all three visits to the current top-four teams this term.
To make things worse, they failed to get on the scoresheet on each occasion, casting further doubt on their quest to snap a long-standing goal drought at the Allianz Stadium.
Team News
Except for the suspended duo Nicolo Fagioli and Paul Pogba, Juventus will be without the injured striker Arkadiusz Milik. On the bright side, Dusan Vlahovic, who got on the scoreboard against Lazio on Tuesday, is back after serving a one-game ban against Biancocelesti last weekend.
On the other hand, all but Oliver Christensen are fit and ready for this trip in the Fiorentina squad. It means Andrea Belotti will probably lead the line, with Lucas Beltran, Christian Kouame, and Nicolas Gonzalez likely to line up behind him in Italiano’s 4-2-3-1.
Juventus vs Fiorentina Potential Lineups
Juventus (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Gleison Bremer, Daniele Rugani, Mattia De Sciglio; Fabio Miretti, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot; Andrea Cambiaso, Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Chiesa.
Fiorentina (4-2-3-1): Pietro Terracciano; Michael Kayode, Nikola Milenkovic, Luca Ranieri, Parisi; Giacomo Bonaventura, Rolando Mandragora; Nicolas Gonzalez, Lucas Beltran, Christian Kouame; Andrea Belotti.
Juventus vs Fiorentina Prediction
Juventus fans will no longer tolerate sub-par home performances, as recently witnessed by their reactions against Genoa and Lazio. With Vlahovic back and Fiorentina not at their best, we expect Allegri’s team to get back in the win column.
Prediction: Juventus Win
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