Locked together on 13 points in the Serie A standings, Calcio heavyweights Juventus and Lazio will fight it out for three points on Saturday night, when the teams meet in Turin.
Though Juve had to settle for a disappointing draw before international football intervened, they sit within touching distance of top spot following an unbeaten start to life under Thiago Motta.
Match preview
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Unable to reproduce a thrilling finale to their Champions League win against RB Leipzig just a few days earlier, Juventus could only claim one point from their most recent outing, at home to Serie A strugglers Cagliari.
Having led for most of the match, thanks to an early Dusan Vlahovic penalty, the Bianconeri let victory slip through their fingers when Douglas Luiz gave away an 88th-minute spot kick, from which Juve conceded for the first time in domestic football this season.
The draw denied Thiago Motta's men a chance to move back into second place, but they remain within three points of leaders Napoli and are still to taste defeat in the 2024-25 campaign.
Meeting his new club's aim to lower their age profile, Motta has also made Juventus the team with the second-youngest average age in Serie A this season, only behind promoted Parma, with academy graduates Nicolo Savona and Samuel Mbangula again starting versus Cagliari.
However, they have now failed to win any of their last three top-flight matches at the Allianz Stadium, continuing a trend that started under former boss Max Allegri: in 2024, Juventus have drawn 14 of 27 league games, which is more than any other team throughout Europe's top five leagues.
They will head into their latest home assignment confident of victory, though, as the weight of history is firmly on their side against Lazio - Juve have lost just one of the clubs' last 20 Serie A meetings in Turin, winning 15.
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Indeed, the Biancocelesti's only away win during that time dates back to October 2017, albeit recent results suggest a slight narrowing of the gap to their more successful rivals.
After beating the Bianconeri 1-0 in March, Lazio have actually won two of their last three league matches against Juventus - as many as throughout the previous 36.
More pertinently, Marco Baroni's side have claimed maximum points from each of their last four fixtures across Serie A and the Europa League, which represents the capital club's best run since the turn of the year.
Courtesy of a 2-1 comeback win against Empoli just before the international break, in which veteran forward Pedro poached a late winner, they have gained the most points from losing positions this season (seven) - surely a sign of good spirit in the camp.
Baroni also led Lazio to wins in both of their opening two European contests for the first time in seven years, and they certainly seem to be gathering momentum; however, a superb record in Rome is not matched by similar form on the road.
By contrast with seven wins from their last nine home matches in Serie A - scoring at a rate of two goals every 90 minutes in the process - they average just one point per game away from Stadio Olimpico this season.
Team News
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Not only will Juventus be without long-term absentees Arkadiusz Milik and Bremer, both of whom underwent knee surgery earlier this month, but summer signings Teun Koopmeiners and Nico Gonzalez are also ruled out of Saturday's game.
Furthermore, midfield duo Weston McKennie and Nicolo Fagioli returned from international duty carrying minor injuries, and Portugal forward Francisco Conceicao must serve a one-match ban.
Thiago Motta will have Tim Weah back in the fold following the winger's return from an ankle injury, but some reshuffling of his resources is therefore required.
Sure to start up front, Dusan Vlahovic could score in four consecutive appearances for the first time since joining Juve; the Serbian striker has previously scored six goals in seven league appearances against Lazio (two headers, two right-footed and two with his left).
Meanwhile, Lazio boss Marco Baroni has been more fortunate than his managerial counterpart, as only Manuel Lazzari (thigh) is set to miss the trip to Turin.
If Matteo Guendouzi can overcome a bruised toe sustained while representing France in the UEFA Nations League, Baroni would have everyone else at his disposal. Recently returned from injury, Matias Vecino is on standby to deputise in central midfield.
Left-back Nuno Tavares has made a sensational start to life at his new club, delivering five assists in as many Serie A matches so far - only Bukayo Saka (seven) has registered more throughout Europe's top five leagues this term.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Savona, Kalulu, Gatti, Cabal; Luiz, Locatelli, Thuram; Cambiaso, Vlahovic, Yildiz
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Tavares; Rovella, Guendouzi; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni; Castellanos
We say: Juventus 1-1 Lazio
With a number of players unavailable, Juventus may have to put up with another single-point haul, as Lazio seem to be heading in the right direction and have scored freely this season.
A share of the spoils would keep both teams in touch with the Serie A pace-setters, and neither would be too dissatisfied to walk away with a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
