Aiming to continue their long dominance of the Turin derby, Serie A giants Juventus will host city rivals Torino on Saturday evening.
After a midweek draw in Europe, Juve now seek a 19th straight game without defeat to their neighbours, which would extend a record run in the Derby della Mole.
Match preview
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Juventus fought back to earn a Champions League draw in Lille on Tuesday night, as Dusan Vlahovic scored his 50th goal for the club by converting a penalty after Francisco Conceicao tumbled to the turf.
Despite coming away with just one point, Juve are within two of the top eight midway through the competition's new league phase, which keeps them in the mix for automatic entry to the last 16.
However, the Bianconeri only occupy sixth place in the Serie A standings, having lost a little momentum of late.
Thiago Motta's men trailed by two in a frantic Derby d'Italia before drawing 4-4 with Inter Milan late last month; then, they twice came from behind to salvage a point against promoted Parma.
Last week, they steadied the ship by beating Udinese 2-0 to remain the only undefeated team in Italy's top flight - albeit having drawn more than half of their 11 league games so far.
Since the start of April, Juventus have not lost once in 19 Serie A fixtures - of which a dozen have ended all-square - so they are currently on the longest unbeaten streak across Europe's top five leagues.
They have also kept a clean sheet on 12 occasions during that run, including a 0-0 draw with Torino - that was their first failure to beat the old enemy since 2022.
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Such has been Toro's submissiveness in the Derby della Mole, they have recorded 13 defeats and no wins from their last 18 Serie A away matches against Juventus.
Recent form also suggests that they will face an uphill battle to get anything out of Saturday's game: following last week's 1-0 loss to Fiorentina, Paolo Vanoli's side have failed to pick up a point from their last three outings.
Having previously drawn acclaim for his sharp start to life in Turin, Vanoli now faces criticism for his team's subsequent slump down the standings, and not only have they lost five from six in the league but they were also turfed out of the Coppa Italia.
Torino's two most recent defeats came without scoring a goal, and a season-ending injury to captain and main marksman Duvan Zapata has certainly seen their penalty-box output nosedive.
Nonetheless, having stayed just inside the top half of Serie A after 11 rounds of action, the Granata may now raise their game against their bitterest rivals.
Team News
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Thiago Motta is sure to make changes to his starting lineup for the Turin derby, following a busy run of fixtures on two fronts - Tim Weah, Weston McKennie and young full-back Nicolo Savona are all pushing for promotion from the bench.
Juventus will be missing one defender, Bremer - who was recently ruled out for the rest of the season - but Danilo is back in the fold after serving a UEFA suspension.
Another Brazil international, Douglas Luiz, also joins leaves Nico Gonzalez (thigh) and Arkadiusz Milik (knee) on the treatment table.
Meanwhile, Torino are fretting over the potential absence of Che Adams, as the Scotland striker suffered a thigh strain against Fiorentina and faces a fitness test before Saturday's late kickoff.
Having made a first-team breakthrough this season, teenage forward Alieu Njie may therefore vie with Nikola Vlasic to partner Antonio Sanabria up front.
Toro will again be missing long-term absentees Duvan Zapata and Perr Schuurs, but Ivan Ilic is in contention for a first start since being sidelined by injury.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Savona, Kalulu, Gatti, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Weah, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Coco, Maripan, Masina; Pedersen, Ilic, Ricci, Linetty, Lazaro; Vlasic, Sanabria
We say: Juventus 2-0 Torino
Juventus have conceded the fewest shots in total (93) and on target (27) in Serie A thus far, while Torino have conceded the most overall (188).
That points to a comfortable home win for derby dominators Juve, who must surely keep another clean sheet against Toro's ailing attack.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
