Sunday’s Serie A program gets underway at the Allianz Stadium as Juventus and Frosinone go head-to-head in the morning kick-off slot. Both sides come into proceedings amid rough patches that have significantly spoiled their mid-season aspirations.
Not long ago, Juventus were neck and neck with Inter in the title race. However, Massimiliano Allegri’s men commence this round nine points adrift of table-topping Nerazzurri, who also have a game in hand. The disappearance of their Scudetto hopes could be attributed to an underwhelming four-game winless league run (D2, L2).
After back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Inter and Udinese, Juventus had to fight back twice to claim a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Hellas Verona last weekend. But the fact remains that only two sides have picked up fewer points in the past four Serie A rounds than Bianconeri’s two. On the bright side, visiting Frosinone are one of them.
Since a 1-1 draw against Verona in late January, Eusebio Di Francesco’s charges have lost three league matches in succession, including a thumping 3-0 defeat to Roma last Sunday. With the Italian manager’s future under threat, the Canaries will be desperate to stem the bleeding in Turin.
Only three points clear of the drop zone at the start of this round, the visitors can’t afford another slip-up. But this is not a field trip, especially considering they have lost their last five encounters against Juventus in all competitions.
Match Preview
Juventus
Out-of-form Juventus couldn’t have hoped for a better opportunity to return to winning ways than Frosinone’s upcoming visit to Turin. In addition to a late 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture at Stadio Benito Stirpe, Allegri’s side dismantled the Canaries 4-0 in Coppa Italian action on this ground in January.
But once an impregnable stronghold, the Allianz Stadium has recently given the impression of a feeble fortress. Juventus have gone from five consecutive home wins across all competitions to back-to-back winless outings (D1, L1). Despite facing the teams from the bottom half of the table in both instances, they only scored once in those two matches.
Against this backdrop, since February 2016 onwards, they’ve netted at least two goals in all five clashes against Frosinone.
Frosinone
Defensive solidity hasn’t been Frosinone’s strong suit this season by any stretch of the imagination. Di Francesco’s porous backline has conceded a league-high 52 goals after 25 games. Since 58% of those goals came on the road (30), the Canaries’ hopes of holding Juventus at bay for the first time in nine matches look improbable.
Leaking goals at an alarming rate has significantly contributed to Frosinone’s disastrous away record. Not only are the visitors one of only three Serie A sides yet to win on the road this season (D3, L9), but their three-point tally remains the division’s worst haul! However, connoisseurs of action-packed football can’t wait to see Frosinone in away action.
Their 12 away league fixtures have averaged a league-high 3.33 goals per game, highlighting the potential for a free-firing contest.
Team News
Juventus will be without several first-team stars this season. Apart from the suspended duo Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli, Allegri can’t call upon his captain Danilo and long-term absentee Mattia De Sciglio. Second-string goalkeeper Mattia Perin is also out, as is Moise Kean.
As for Frosinone, Anthony Oyono, Riccardo Marchizza, Kevin Bonifazi, and Mateus Lusuardi remain on the sidelines. Marvin Cuni is also unavailable due to injury. On a positive note, Simone Romagnoli and Luca Garritano are back in action.
Juventus vs Frosinone Potential Lineups
Juventus (3-5-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Federico Gatti, Gleison Bremer, Alex Sandro; Andrea Cambiaso, Weston McKennie, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic; Kenan Yildiz, Dusan Vlahovic.
Frosinone (4-3-3): Stefano Turati; Nadir Zortea, Ilario Monterisi, Caleb Okoli, Emanuele Valeri; Luca Mazzitelli, Enzo Barrenechea, Marco Brescianini; Matias Soule, Kaio Jorge, Abdou Harroui.
Juventus vs Frosinone Prediction
Juventus have dominated this fixture in the past decade but still can’t take anything for granted if they’re to return to the win column for the first time since January. We wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Frosinone getting on the scoresheet.
That would increase the pressure on Juve’s misfiring frontline, yet we expect three points to stay in Turin.
Prediction: Juventus Win
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