Seeking revenge following a humiliating 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Stadium, Juventus head to the Stadio Artemio Franchi to meet Fiorentina. While the hosts continue to struggle in the bottom half of the table, the visitors are fighting tooth and nail to secure a top-four finish in Serie A.
Juventus swiftly bounced back from a 1-0 loss to Atalanta in Bergamo to claim a 3-1 home win over Parma last time out and maintain a two-point lead on fifth-placed Napoli. With six matchdays left in the league, the Bianconeri can ill-afford any more slip-ups if they want to avoid a massive upset.
Meanwhile, coming off the back of a 2-1 away victory over Hellas Verona, Fiorentina hope to build some momentum and preserve a five-point advantage over 18th-placed Cagliari. In an utterly disappointing season for La Viola, the victory in Turin represents one of if not the brightest of their moments.
If Giuseppe Iachini’s men pull off another miracle here, it will be the first time since the 1968-69 campaign that Fiorentina have completed a Serie A double over Juventus. The last time the Florence outfit won back-to-back top-flight meetings with this opposition dates back to 1998.
Iachini has to be wary of the fact his players have failed to get on the scoresheet in each of their last three league encounters with perennial Serie A champions on home turf. Following the above-mentioned triumph over Verona, Fiorentina can now post two straight league victories for the first time this season.
On the other hand, Juventus‘ woes on the road have seen them pick up just one win in their last five Serie A matches away from home (D2, L2), drawing a blank in each defeat in this sequence. Action-packed football in the later stages of play has highlighted Juve’s league trips this season as nine of 15 have featured at least one goal beyond the 75th minute.
Given Juventus’ footballing stature and intimidating firepower in the attacking third, it may come as some surprise that the Turin giants have failed to win any of the sever away league games in which they conceded first this season.
On the bright side, Andrea Pirlo’s men boast an impressive 84.62% win-ratio in Serie A matches that saw them lead at half-time this term.