Level on points in the Serie A standings, Juventus and Fiorentina meet in Turin on Sunday evening, both aiming to stay in touch with the Scudetto race.
While Juve could make it 18 league games unbeaten, they are trailing behind Italy's top four; the Viola hold one game in hand on their old foes but have recently gone three without a win across all competitions.
Match preview
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Since scraping a barely deserved point against Venezia earlier this month, Juventus have shown signs that 2025 could hold more promise than a strange 2024 dominated by draws and disappointment.
After sweeping aside Cagliari to reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Juve were 2-1 winners in Monza just before Christmas, with the decisive goal scored by fit-again forward Nico Gonzalez - one of many men to have taken the road from Florence to Turin.
Last summer, the former Fiorentina star followed in the footsteps of Roberto Baggio, Federico Chiesa, Dusan Vlahovic and several others by leaving Tuscany for Italy's most successful club; however, he is among a number of recent signings that are yet to prove their worth.
Upon Thiago Motta's arrival in the Allianz Stadium dugout, Juventus supplemented their ageing squad with some expensive acquisitions, but little has changed in terms of results.
Throughout 2024, the Bianconeri have drawn 20 Serie A matches under the watch of Motta and his much-maligned predecessor Max Allegri; only Perugia (22 in 1979) have ever shared the spoils more times in a single calendar year.
Beating Monza ended a run of four straight top-flight stalemates, so before heading for Saudi Arabia to contest the Supercoppa Italiana, Motta's men will now aim to post rare back-to-back wins.
Having claimed maximum points from all but one of their last 12 year-ending league matches, precedent is firmly in their favour; albeit the only exception was in 2020, when they lost 3-0 at home to Fiorentina, with Vlahovic scoring for the Viola.
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That memorable occasion apart, Fiorentina have lost 12 of their last 13 away games against Juventus in Serie A, further deepening a longstanding resentment felt by the Tuscan club's fans.
This season, they are led by ex-Juve player Raffaele Palladino, who has surpassed expectations since taking charge, leading his new club to fifth place in the standings and through to the Conference League's last 16.
After a run of eight consecutive victories had taken them into the title race, Fiorentina have since lost their last two league fixtures - against Bologna and Udinese - with the latter defeat ending a long unbeaten run on home turf.
Moise Kean put them in front at Stadio Franchi, but conceding two second-half goals turned the game on its head and ultimately left the Viola empty-handed.
Furthermore, losing in Bologna had come after winning all four of their previous four away games in Serie A without conceding a goal, so Palladino will be keen to get back on track this weekend.
While Fiorentina still sit above AC Milan and Juventus in the table, another setback could see them fall further behind the top four.
Team News
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Juventus are still burdened by a long absence list, as an injury-hit 2024 draws to its close: Arkadiusz Milik, Bremer, Juan Cabal, Timothy Weah, Jonas Rouhi and Douglas Luiz are all sidelined.
Thiago Motta may even take the rare step of naming an almost unchanged team on Sunday, although Andrea Cambiaso could replace makeshift left-back Weston McKennie.
Leading the hosts' attack, Dusan Vlahovic scored 44 goals in 98 Serie A matches for Fiorentina but has since played four times against the Viola without finding the net.
After searching for some time to find an adequate replacement for Vlahovic, the visitors signed Moise Kean from Juve in the summer. The Italy striker has now hit double figures in a single season for just the second time in his career - the other was in 2020-21, while with Paris Saint-Germain.
Kean should spearhead Fiorentina's front line upon his return to Turin, supported by any two from Lucas Beltran, Riccardo Sottil, Albert Gudmundsson and Andrea Colpani.
After Michael Kayode replaced the suspended Dodo at right-back last weekend, that switch is set to be reversed.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Savona, Kalulu, Gatti, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, Gonzalez, Yildiz; Vlahovic
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dodo, Comuzzo, Ranieri, Gosens; Adli, Cataldi; Colpani, Gudmundsson, Sottil; Kean
We say: Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina
Juventus are still a work in progress, so they will be put to the test by a well-coached Fiorentina team on Sunday evening.
However, the Bianconeri have lost just once at home this season, and it seems that their talented attack is finally finding its feet.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
