In a bid to maintain their unbeaten start to the Serie A season, Juventus will be visiting struggling Sassuolo on Saturday evening.
The Bianconeri have secured three victories in their first four league games, while the hosts have only managed to gather three points so far.
Match Preview
Last week, Juventus emerged victorious against one of their potential top-four rivals, Lazio, with a 3-1 victory in Turin.
The introduction of Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic as their new forward partnership proved fruitful, with both players finding the back of the net.
Vlahovic has already scored four goals in his first four league matches for the second consecutive year.
Under the guidance of head coach Max Allegri, who took responsibility for the club’s disappointing campaign last season, Juventus has amassed 10 points out of a possible 12 this season and remains unbeaten.
Former off-field issues and a lackluster playing style are gradually fading away, and currently, only Inter is positioned ahead of Juventus in the Serie A standings.
It is worth noting that this is only the fifth time since their return to the top-flight in 2007 that the Bianconeri have scored at least nine goals in their opening four matches.
With their formidable front two in excellent form, Allegri can expect their attacking prowess to continue when facing one of Italy’s leakiest defenses.
Juventus has already won both of their away games this season without conceding a single goal against Udinese and Empoli. Hence, playing at the Mapei Stadium should not pose any significant concerns.
Sassuolo, on the other hand, holds a disappointing record against Juventus in Serie A. They have suffered six defeats in ten home games against the Turin giants, managing only two victories.
However, under current coach Alessio Dionisi, Sassuolo has recently improved their performance against Juventus, winning two out of their last four league encounters.
Their most recent meeting resulted in a 1-0 success for Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium in April.
This victory was one of three wins in their last 15 Serie A fixtures, indicating the need for improvement and putting pressure on Dionisi to turn things around.
Sassuolo’s season has been off to a rocky start, losing to Napoli and Atalanta without scoring a goal.
They managed to secure a 3-1 victory against Hellas Verona just before the international break, breaking their winless streak.
However, Sassuolo’s away form has been abysmal, suffering a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Frosinone last week, marking their worst run of away results since 2019.
Sassuolo Serie A form: L L W L
Sassuolo form (all competitions): W L L W L
Juventus Serie A form: W D W W
Team News:
After Weston McKennie’s impressive performance as a wing-back in the previous game, Max Allegri may choose to retain his wide men, with Filip Kostic securing a place on the left flank over Andrea Cambiaso.
Unfortunately, Alex Sandro and Mattia De Sciglio will be unavailable due to injuries, while Paul Pogba’s availability is still pending due to his ongoing doping case.
Nonetheless, Juventus is expected to travel to Reggio Emilia with a mostly fit squad.
Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa, who have formed a formidable partnership in attack, should be fully fit and ready to deliver another strong performance.
Vlahovic has the potential to become only the fifth Juve player in the last 40 years to score at least five goals in the first five rounds, while Chiesa has enjoyed his best scoring start in Serie A with three goals in the first four matchdays.
In contrast, Sassuolo’s main attacking threat, Domenico Berardi, has only managed to score once in 1025 minutes (12 appearances) against Juventus in the Italian top flight, and that goal came from a set-piece.
Long-term absentee Agustin Alvarez remains sidelined, and injured goalkeeper Andrea Consigli faces a race against time to recover for Saturday’s game.
Alessio Cragno will remain on standby as the deputy goalkeeper.
Possible Starting Lineups:
Sassuolo:
Cragno;
Toljan, Viti, Erlic, Vina;
Racic, Henrique; Berardi, Bajrami, Lauriente;
Pinamonti
Juventus:
Szczesny;
Gatti, Bremer, Danilo;
McKennie, Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic;
Chiesa, Vlahovic
Prediction:
We predict a 2-1 victory for Juventus against Sassuolo. Due to Sassuolo’s poor record against Juventus and their lackluster defensive performances this season, they might suffer their fourth defeat in five games.
Juventus has displayed promising signs of synergy that had been missing since their last Scudetto win, especially in their away matches where they have been particularly effective.
