Juventus will be looking to build on a 2-1 home triumph over Napoli in midweek when they lock horns with Genoa on Sunday afternoon. The two sides have had identical returns from their last two Serie A fixtures (win and draw).
Juventus beating Napoli at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday saw the Bianconeri bring a two-game winless league streak to a halt. Indeed, before coming out on top of their top-four six-pointer a few days ago, Andrea Pirlo’s men lost to Benevento at home and played out a draw with Torino.
Unlike some previous seasons, the Turin giants have encountered massive problems facing the sides from the bottom half of the table this term. They have collected fewer points (15 out of the available 33) against such opposition than any other team currently occupying the top-seven spots.
Coming into this fixture, Juventus have failed to keep a clean sheet in five consecutive Serie A outings and could now concede in six top-flight matches on the bounce for the first time under Pirlo. Regardless of their recent defensive woes, the hosts will be confident of securing the necessary three points here.
Going back to January 1991, Juventus have lost none of their 17 Serie A meetings with Genoa on home turf, winning 13 while drawing the other four. Additionally, the reigning Italian champions registered a shutout in 52.94% of those showdowns, including five of the last seven.
On the other hand, a 3-1 thumping at the Ferraris in the reverse fixture earlier this season gave Genoa a third consecutive league loss against Juve. The Griffins last suffered four Serie A defeats on the trot to this opposition in 2008.
Davide Ballardini has to be worried about the fact that his men have failed to find the back of the net in four of their last six league road trips. In fact, a lack of ruthlessness in the attacking third has seen Genoa score a league-low ten away goals this Serie A campaign.
Adding to a long list of issues, the visitors have found the opener in just 14.29% of their top-flight games away from the Ferraris so far. Genoa have established a habit of falling behind without recovering, ending up on the losing side in seven of the ten away Serie A games in which they were trailing at half-time this season.