Juventus begin the defence of their Coppa Italia title on Tuesday night as they host Serie A strugglers Sampdoria in the round of 16.
Triumphing in this competition last season was the undisputed high of Andrea Pirlo’s tenure. The Bianconeri beat Atalanta 2-1 in the final to secure their record-extending 14th Coppa Italia crown. And after falling to defeat in the Supercoppa Italiana last week, Italy’s premier cup competition is now Juve’s best chance of claiming some silverware this term.
On Tuesday, they take on a Sampdoria side yet to win in 2022. After a promising end to 2021 kept Roberto D’Aversa in the job, the Blucerchiati have lost their opening three games to start the new year, one of which was at home to relegation-threatened Cagliari.
Their winless start to 2022 saw D’Aversa sacked ahead of Tuesday’s bout. Samp’s 2-1 home defeat to Torino on Saturday proved to be the final straw.
On the contrary, Juve are unbeaten in their last eight in Serie A and have made a habit of brushing aside inferior opposition in recent weeks. They overcame D’Aversa’s side 3-2 in their first meeting of the season back in September.
Here’s our preview of Tuesday’s Coppa Italia round of 16 clash between Juventus and Sampdoria.
How to Watch Juventus vs Sampdoria
When is kick-off? Tuesday 18th January
What time is kick-off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it played? Allianz Stadium
TV channel/live stream? Premier Sports 2 (UK), Paramount+ (US)
Juventus Team News
No rest for the Bianconeri with Tuesday’s #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa encounter fast-approaching 🚄
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) January 16, 2022
Max Allegri will surely rotate for Tuesday’s clash and he might give some academy stars a run-out. Thus, Koni De Winter, Matias Soulé and Fabio Miretti are all in with a shout of earning some minutes in this one. Summer arrival Kaio Jorge, meanwhile, could make his first Juventus start.
Elsewhere, Mattia Perin will likely replace Wojciech Szczesny between the sticks. Matthijs de Ligt and Moise Kean are suspended, although Leonardo Bonucci is ready to make his return to the starting XI.
On the injury front, Danilo isn’t quite ready to make his comeback, Aaron Ramsey’s status is questionable, while Federico Chiesa is a long-term absentee.
Sampdoria Team News
Samp’s stand-in boss doesn’t quite have Allegri’s luxury of heavily rotating his side. The manager’s still without Mikkel Damsgaard, Maya Yoshida and Valerio Verre but he will welcome back Julian Chabot to his matchday squad after the defender served his one-game suspension.
Omar Colley is away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations.
Juventus vs Sampdoria Predicted Lineups
Juventus: Perin; De Sciglio, Rugani, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Arthur, Bentancur, Rabiot; Kulusevski, Jorge, Bernardeschi.
Sampdoria: Falcone; Conti, Ferrari, Chabot, Murru; Candreva, Rincon, Thorsby, Ciervo; Gabbiadini, Quagliarella
Juventus’ Recent Form
Juventus 2-0 Udinese (15/01) – Serie A
Inter Milan 2-1 (AET) Juventus (12/01) – Supercoppa Italiana
AS Roma 3-4 Juventus (09/01) – Serie A
Juventus 1-1 Napoli (06/01) – Serie A
Juventus 2-0 Cagliari (21/12) – Serie A
Sampdoria’s Recent Form
Sampdoria 1-2 Torino (15/01) – Serie A
Napoli 1-0 Sampdoria (09/01) – Serie A
Sampdoria 1-2 Cagliari (06/01) – Serie A
AS Roma 1-1 Sampdoria (22/12) – Serie A
Sampdoria 1-1 Venezia (19/12) – Serie A
Prediction
Despite Juve’s rotation, they should win against a deflated Sampdoria on Tuesday. Several players will have a great opportunity to impress the boss, and their motivation should aid the Bianconeri’s collective display.
Juve have beaten Samp in their last five meetings and have scored two goals in each of those victories. I expect them to do the same here with Max Allegri overseeing a functional and efficient effort. Although, perhaps a late consolation will make things interesting in the dying embers.
Prediction: Juventus 2-1 Sampdoria