Two giants of Calcio collide in Serie A's Saturday night kickoff, as Scudetto contenders Juventus host Roma at the Allianz Stadium.
Separated by 12 points in the standings, both sides won their final fixture before Christmas and now hope to conclude 2023 in style.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having been held to a disappointing draw by Genoa one week earlier, Juventus returned to winning ways last weekend, when they secured victory over a young Frosinone side featuring several players on loan from the Old Lady.
After an opening goal from Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz, who impressed on his full debut, Juve were hauled back to parity shortly after the break, but Dusan Vlahovic then emerged from the bench to bag an 81st-minute winner at Stadio Benito Stirpe.
Three more points keep them on the coat-tails of irrepressible league leaders Inter Milan, who hold a five-point advantage over Max Allegri's men, having played one more game.
Before kicking off 2024 with a double-header against Salernitana - first hosting the southern side in the Coppa Italia, before travelling down to Salerno for a Serie A contest - Juventus return to Turin this weekend.
The Bianconeri have conceded no more than once in each of their last 13 home matches, shipping just seven goals in the process - their best such run since 2019, during Allegri's super-successful first spell in charge.
Although he has yet to lead Juve to silverware following his comeback in 2021, the Tuscan coach has certainly made them tougher to beat, and they are serious title contenders once again.
Keeping the pressure on Inter may prove no easy feat, but Juventus have won 10 of their last 12 home matches against Roma in Serie A and will be confident of continuing that trend on Saturday.
© Reuters
Roma may have beaten the Bianconeri in the clubs' most recent encounter, a 1-0 home victory in March, but they last secured back-to-back wins over Juventus in 1995.
Buoyed by seeing off fellow top-four contenders Napoli last time out, when Lorenzo Pellegrini and Romelu Lukaku struck late on at Stadio Olimpico, Jose Mourinho's men may now fancy their chances of finally doing so this weekend.
Although they were aided by the Scudetto-holders' implosion - Matteo Politano was sent off not long before Pellegrini opened the scoring, and Victor Osimhen later followed him down the tunnel - Roma held firm to seal maximum points, immediately bouncing back from defeat to Bologna.
Throughout 2023, the Giallorossi have scored 26 times during the last 15 minutes of matches in Serie A - including no less than nine of the last 11 - equalling a club record in the top flight.
Such fighting spirit reflects Mourinho's steely influence, even if his rigid tactics are barely more palatable than those of Allegri. Yet, the veteran coach has been unable to turn Roma's faltering away form around.
In the league alone, the capital club have already lost nine times on their travels this year - their third-highest tally over the past four decades; furthermore, they remain flaky when faced with Italy's biggest sides.
Roma have lost 10 of their last 15 games against teams occupying a top-two spot in the Serie A standings - failing to win even once - since beating Juve at the Allianz Stadium back in August 2020.
Team News
© Reuters
Aiming to end his nine-game goalscoring drought against Roma, Federico Chiesa has been passed fit to start for Juventus on Saturday, so Kenan Yildiz could return to the bench.
Injured trio Moise Kean, Alex Sandro and Mattia De Sciglio join suspended pair Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli on the sidelines, and Max Allegri will be without another wing-back this weekend.
Andrea Cambiaso must serve a suspension, opening the door for Tim Weah to return to the starting XI; alternatively, the latter's USA teammate Weston McKennie may be switched out to the right flank.
Roma, meanwhile, will still be without Houssem Aouar, Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham, but ex-Juve forward Paulo Dybala could be involved - if only from the bench.
The Argentina international has rejoined full training following his latest muscular injury, and Jose Mourinho may be tempted to partner him with Romelu Lukaku - who has scored in each of his last three matches - at some stage during the second half.
Another selection dilemma for the visitors' head coach relates to a battle between young midfielder Edoardo Bove and club captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, who broke the deadlock as a substitute last weekend.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; McKennie, Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Chiesa, Vlahovic
Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Mancini, Llorente, Ndicka; Kristensen, Cristante, Paredes, Bove, Zalewski; El Shaarawy; Lukaku
We say: Juventus 1-0 Roma
The 1-0 win is written deep in Juve's DNA, and a tactical tussle between Allegri and Mourinho is not likely to develop into a goalfest. A single strike could decide the points' destiny, and the Bianconeri's ability to get the job done against other top-four rivals should prove enough to see off Roma.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
