Juventus’ pursuit of the Serie A (SA) European places hit a stumbling block last week as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Roma, but the Bianconeri steadied the ship with a 1-0 victory over Freiburg in midweek UEFA Europa League action. Massimiliano Allegri praised the “intensity” of his side in that win and that’s something he’ll be looking to maintain as Juve return to the Allianz Stadium on the back of just one home defeat since November (W8, D2).
Unsurprisingly then, only Inter and Napoli have won more home points than Juventus ahead of this round, and if it weren’t for their 15-point deduction, the Old Lady would be sitting inside the top-four. Ahead of this weekend’s fixtures though, Juve sit seventh and seven points adrift of Atalanta in sixth, but that margin is unlikely to intimidate them given their solid SA form since October (W12, D1, L3).
This therefore looks an unlikely destination for Sampdoria’s faltering SA survival bid to take-off, but considering La Samp are nine points adrift of safety ahead of this round after failing to win any of their last nine league games (D3, L6), they’re now at desperation stage. Manager Dejan Stanković responded to their 0-0 draw with Salernitana by stating that his side “won’t give up as long as there’s hope” but that may be fading fast, with Sampdoria winless in ten matches against sides currently in SA’s top-seven (D3, L7).
Sampdoria’s woes are compounded here by Juventus’ current form, while failure to win any of the last seven H2Hs (D1, L6) including defeat in each of their last eight trips to the Old Lady, only serves to compound their misery. This is certainly a fixture Sampdoria dread with just five wins from 67 visits overall (D19, L43), while 40 conceded goals across their last 13 such trips (W1, D2, L10) indicates they could be in for a long evening.
Players to watch: After scoring the winner against Freiburg, Ángel Di María said “I’m showing what I’m worth”, a statement that’s backed up by a return of five goals in as many appearances from the Argentinian World Cup winner. Sampdoria forward Manolo Gabbiadini is primed to return from suspension to face Juventus, a side he’s scored twice against in SA meetings, including an equaliser in a 1-1 draw at this ground in 2014/15.
Hot stat: Juventus are the only team in SA yet to concede a goal between the 76th minute and full-time this season, while they’ve netted eight home goals in this period – the most in the division.
