Juventus resume their Serie A title pursuit on Wednesday with a must-win home encounter against newly promoted Parma. There’s no margin for error if Thiago Motta’s men are to stay within striking distance of Napoli.
Following Napoli’s 2-0 win against out-of-sorts Milan on Tuesday, eight points separate Antonio Conte’s high-flying side from third-placed Juventus. Despite avoiding defeat in all nine league matches in charge of the Bianconeri, Motta’s habit of sharing the spoils has been a massive setback in the early season proceedings.
Juventus pulled off a stunning late fightback to haul back a 4-2 deficit in a see-saw 4-4 Derby d’Italia draw against Inter on Sunday. Kenan Yildiz couldn’t have picked a better moment to get off the mark in Serie A this season. The Turkish prodigy netted twice off the bench to salvage a point for his team at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Like Juventus, Parma had to overcome a halftime deficit to hold Empoli to a 1-1 stalemate at Stadio Ennio Tardini earlier in the day. However, it was the Crusaders’ seventh consecutive winless outing in Serie A (D4, L3) as they commence this first midweek round of 2024/25 agonizingly close to the bottom three.
Indeed, only goal difference stands between Parma and 18th-placed Lecce ahead of the kick-off, highlighting the importance of upsetting the apple cart at the Allianz Stadium. Given the circumstances, Fabio Pecchia’s team would likely sign up for another draw, even though they’re winless in Serie A since late August.
Match Preview
Juventus
Title-chasing Juventus carry an eye-catching 17-game unbeaten league run into this matchday. However, that record doesn’t show the whole picture. Indeed, 11 of those 17 matches ended all square, underlining the home side’s notorious inability to turn stalemates into victories.
Such an eye-watering number of draws has started to frustrate Juventus fans, considering it continues to throw a spanner in the works as they bid to end a four-year Scudetto drought. Anything other than three points against Parma would intensify the pressure on the Bianconeri.
However, they seem well-positioned to return to the win column, having won five of the last six meetings with the Crusaders (D1). They’ve been particularly prolific in this fixture, netting at least two goals in six of the seven most recent clashes between the teams in Turin (W6, D1).
Adding to Motta’s confidence, Juventus boast an outstanding record of eight triumphs from their last nine Wednesday-held Serie A outings (L1).
Parma
Despite their underwhelming form, visiting Parma will be confident about troubling the scoresheet on Wednesday. A league-high eight of their nine Serie A matches this season have seen both teams on the scoresheet, testifying to their impressive scoring prowess.
But Pecchia has yet to find a cure for Parma’s lackluster defending. Except for a scoreless draw at Bologna earlier this month, the visitors have conceded in every competitive game this season. If it’s any consolation, they haven’t capitulated more than once in their last three league matches.
However, Wednesday’s task is nothing short of Herculean. To better understand the size of the task awaiting Parma, you need to look at their disastrous run of 18 consecutive Serie A travels without winning (D8, L10).
As if that’s not concerning enough, Parma’s last top-flight win on Juventus’ home ground dates back to 2011. It was also the last time they conceded under 1.5 goals in this match-up.
Team News
Juventus are still without long-term absentees Paul Pogba, Arkadiusz Milik, and Gleison Bremer. This game will come too soon for marquee summer signings Nicolas Gonzalez and Teun Koopmeiners, while there’s a chance Douglas Luiz could return to the fold.
As for Parma, defensive duo Yordan Osorio and Alessandro Circati are the only players unavailable for selection. However, there are question marks over the heads of Adrian Benedyczak, Nahuel Estevez, and Mateusz Kowalski.
Juventus vs Parma Potential Starting Line-ups
Juventus (4-2-3-1): Michele Di Gregorio; Nicolo Savona, Pierre Kalulu, Federico Gatti, Juan Cabal; Marcus Thuram, Manuel Locatelli; Francisco Conceicao, Kenan Yildiz, Timothy Weah; Dusan Vlahovic.
Parma (4-2-3-1): Zion Suzuki; Woyo Coulibaly, Enrico Del Prato, Botond Balogh, Emanuele Valeri; Simon Sohm, Adrian Bernabe; Dennis Man, Hernani, Valentin Mihaila; Ange Bonny.
Juventus vs Parma Prediction
Parma can cause problems for every team in Serie A, as evidenced by their stellar win against Milan and a hard-earned draw against Fiorentina earlier in the season. However, they could be out of their depth in Turin as we back Juventus to return to winning ways.
Prediction: Juventus to Win
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