After getting out of jail in their midweek European clash, Juventus will seek a third straight Serie A win on Sunday, as they host relegation-threatened Cremonese in Turin.
A last-gasp leveller saw Juve salvage a draw from the home leg of their Europa League semi-final tie, and they now aim to increase their stranglehold on second place at the expense of opponents desperately needing points to avoid the drop.
Match preview
© Reuters
Federico Gatti's stoppage-time equaliser against Sevilla on Thursday gave Juventus a boost in their pursuit of the last piece of silverware available to them this season, and a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Stadium leaves the route to the final open for Max Allegri's men.
One of five Italian semi-finalists across three UEFA club competitions, the Bianconeri must overcome the Spanish Europa League specialists in next week's return leg if they are to make it to Budapest on the last day of May, when their opponents could be fellow Serie A side Roma.
Before their trip to Andalucia, though, Juventus have the task of securing a top-four league finish to complete, as they sit only five points clear of fifth-placed Milan with four rounds of action remaining.
After having a 15-point penalty overturned - at least temporarily - Juve were thrust back into contention to finish 'best of the rest' behind new champions Napoli, and back-to-back wins over Lecce and Atalanta have certainly helped their cause in that regard.
They sit third in the standings, having been ahead of both Lazio and Inter heading into the weekend, and Allegri has bolted together a curious collection of old heads and promising primavera products - the latter group including Samuel Iling-Junior, who scored the opener against Atalanta last Sunday.
While rarely easy on the eye, Juve's home form has kept them flying high: since the beginning of October, they have won 10 of their 13 home matches in Serie A - a tally matched only by Napoli during that period.
Now, they host a team they have never lost to even once in Serie A, with 11 wins from 15 games against Cremonese demonstrating the gulf between two clubs of very different stature.
© Reuters
In fact, Cremonese have lost on all seven of their previous top-flight trips to face Juventus in Turin, with an aggregate score of 21-3 in the Old Lady's favour.
Despite being beaten 1-0 in January's reverse fixture at Stadio Giovanni Zini, the Grigiorossi have accrued 16 points from 15 games in the second half of the season - they were still winless and sat on just eight points at the midpoint of their comeback campaign.
Nonetheless, an immediate return to Serie B beckons for Davide Ballardini's side, who are six points from safety with four games remaining - even after a make-or-break win over fellow strugglers Spezia last time out.
Goals from masked striker Daniel Ciofani and Mexican defender Johan Vasquez - who was relegated with Genoa last season - kept Cremonese's slim hopes of survival alive, but fixtures against Juve and Lazio feature in the final weeks of their schedule.
No other team have drawn more away matches in Serie A this season (eight, along with Salernitana - their final-day opponents), and even adding one more to that total on Sunday evening would keep the flame flickering, no matter how dimly.
Team News
© Reuters
As Juventus captain Leonardo Bonucci sustained a thigh injury in midweek and will join Mattia De Sciglio on the sidelines, Max Allegri must make at least one change to his team on Sunday - though a more substantial turnover of players is expected.
Sandwiched by two crucial European matches, Allegri could recall Bremer following a thigh problem, while Juve's saviour against Sevilla, Federico Gatti, is also in contention. Leandro Paredes returns from a Serie A suspension and may feature in midfield.
Up front, two Europa League substitutes could be promoted from the bench: Arkadiusz Milik and Federico Chiesa join Moise Kean in hoping to unseat Angel Di Maria and Dusan Vlahovic. The latter scored against both Lecce and Atalanta at the start of the month and could now find the net in three consecutive league appearances for the first time since switching to Turin.
The Serbian striker will have to find a way past reported Juve target Marco Carnesecchi though, and Cremonese's number one has made more saves (80) than any other goalkeeper across Europe's top five leagues in 2023.
Meanwhile, ahead of him, injuries for Frank Tsadjout and Cyriel Dessers mean Daniel Ciofani could continue up front.
Charles Pickel is still serving a suspension for striking Sandro Tonali in the Grigiorossi's draw with Milan, but Giacomo Quagliata returns to the squad following his two-match ban.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Gatti, Rugani, Bremer; Barbieri, Fagioli, Paredes, Miretti, Iling-Junior; Kean, Milik
Cremonese possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Sernicola, Chiriches, Vasquez, Valeri; Meite, Castagnetti; Benassi, Galdames, Okereke; Ciofani
We say: Juventus 1-0 Cremonese
Though the personnel may be different, Max Allegri's outlook rarely changes, and Juventus should grind their way to three more points by taking the lead against Cremonese and shutting up shop. Ahead of a pivotal Europa League tie next week, it may be a matter of getting the job done with the minimum of fuss.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
