Juventus will look to keep their place on the Serie A table when they welcome Spezia to Turin on Sunday.
Venue: Allianz Stadium (Turin)
Key Statistics
Juventus are currently unbeaten in their last 12 Serie A games (W8, D5)
They boast a 100% win rate against in Serie A clashes against Spezia (W3).
The Old Lady has failed to score over two goals in their previous ten SA home games.
Spezia have lost only one of their last five away league games (W3, D1).
The visitors have scored in each of their last five away league games.
Only Salernitana (61) and Empoli (53) have conceded more league goals than Spezia (49) this season.
Head to head
In both Serie A and Serie B, both sides have met six times. Juventus have three wins, while Spezia have one win in that period.
Latest performances in all competitions
Juventus: W-W-D-D-D
Spezia: L-L-L-D-W
Juventus
Juventus will look to extend their unbeaten run to 14 league games when they welcome Spezia to Allianz Stadium this Sunday.
After a poor start to the season, the hosts are flying at the moment. They come into this tie without a league loss since later November when they lost 1-0 to Atalanta.
Since that day, they have won eight of their 13 league games, drawing the other five. Such form has catapulted them to the top four places.
Currently, they are sitting in fourth place, three points ahead of Atalanta in fifth, having played a game more. They have the longest unbeaten run in Europe’s top five leagues but will still consider themselves a long way off a title fight, being that they are eight points behind leaders Napoli.
Even so, they will you into this tie bearing in mind that they will soon be in the title conversation if they continue to win games. Meanwhile, they come into this game on the back of a 1-0 win over Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina in the first leg of the semi-final of the Coppa Italia.
Massimiliano Allegri, meanwhile, will be without Federico Chiesa, American midfielder Weston McKennie, January signing Denis Zakaria and young Brazilian striker Kaio Jorge for this tie.
There are doubts over the availability of Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro, veteran centre-backs Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Bernardeschi and Daniele Rugani.
Possible Juventus starting line-up
Wojciech Szczesny, Juan Cuadrado, Matthijs de Ligt, Mattia De Sciglio, Luca Pellegrini, Marley Ake, Manuel Locatelli, Arthur Melo, Adrien Rabiot, Dusan Vlahovic, Moise Kean.
Injured: Kaio Jorge, Federico Chiesa, Denis Zakaria, Weston McKennie
Doubtful: Federico Bernardeschi, Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele Rugani, Alex Sandro, Leonardo Bonucci, Paulo Dybala
Suspended: None
Spezia
For Spezia, they are back in the relaxation fight after a series of poor results.
The visitors come into this tie on the back of a 1-0 loss to AS Roma – their third loss in a row – leaving them hovering just on top of the relegation zone.
Although they will remain outside of it no matter what happens in this game, they will be eager for a good result given that only four points separate them and Venezia, who occupy the 18th spot.
Before losing their last three games, Thiago Motta’s side went in a four-game unbeaten run (WE, D1). They will therefore fancy their chances in this game.
But they will have to travel to Turin without Brazilian midfielder Leo Sena, Gambian winger Ebrima Colley and Swedish midfielder Aimar Sher. Former Meanwhile, Kelvin Amian and Polish centre-back Jakub Kiwior are both suspended.
Possible Spezia starting line-up
Ivan Provedel, Salva Ferrer, Martin Erlic, Dimitris Nikolaou, Arkadiusz Reca, Viktor Kovalenko, Aurelien Nguiamba, Simone Bastoni, Daniele Verde, M’Bala Nzola, Kevin Agudelo.
Injured: Aimar Sher, Leo Sena, Ebrima Colley
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Jakub Kiwior, Kelvin Amian
Prediction
Juventus 3-1 Spezia
