Juventus have the chance to let off some steam on Sunday afternoon as they take on Salernitana in Serie A.
The Bianconeri suffered a third-straight elimination in the first knockout round of the Champions League on Wednesday night as they collapsed to a 3-0 defeat against Villarreal. Unai Emery beat Massimiliano Allegri at his own game as the Yellow Submarine scored three times in the final 15 minutes following a superb defensive performance.
The defeat was another unfortunate reminder of Juve’s demise on the continental stage.
Allegri’s viability to lead the club’s rebuild should come under scrutiny at the end of the season, but Juve still have a chance to finish the 2021/22 campaign on a high. Their domestic form as of late has been super impressive and they head into Sunday’s contest on a 15-game unbeaten run in Serie A.
They should extend that streak to 16 this weekend against the league’s poorest outfit. Salernitana sit rock bottom in the table having accumulated 16 points from their 27 games. Although, they’ve shown signs as of late that they’re ready to fight for their place in the top-flight. Still, Davide Nicola’s side are a long way off safety.
Juventus vs Salernitana preview
Here’s our preview of Sunday’s Serie A clash.
How to Watch Juventus vs Salernitana
When is kick-off? Sunday 20 March
What time is kick-off? 14:00 (BST)
Where is it played? Allianz Stadium
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport 2 (UK), Paramount+ (US)
Referee? Giovanni Ayroldi
Juventus Team News
Focus shifts to #JuveSalernitana 💪
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) March 17, 2022
Paulo Dybala made his return off the bench on Wednesday and he’s in contention for a start on Sunday. The Argentine could replace Juan Cuadrado in the XI.
There are no fresh injury concerns for the Bianconeri. Although; Leonardo Bonucci, Alex Sandro and Denis Zakaria aren’t expected to return until after the international break. Federico Chiesa, Kaio Jorge and Weston McKennie are long-term absentees.
Giorgio Chiellini is poised to replace Daniele Rugani in Allegri’s team, while Manuel Locatelli misses out after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
Salernitana Team News
Luca Ranieri could replace Matteo Ruggeri at left-back after recovering from a muscular injury to make a substitute appearance against Sassuolo last weekend.
Franck Ribery and Andrea Schiavone are Salernitana’s only notable injury concerns.
Juventus vs Salernitana Predicted Lineups
Juventus: Szczesny; Danilo, De Ligt, Chiellini, De Sciglio; Cuadrado, Arthur, Rabiot, Bernardeschi; Morata, Vlahovic.
Salernitana: Sepe; Veseli, Gyomber, Fazio, Ranieri; Coulibaly, Ederson; Perotti, Bonazzoli, Verdi; Duric.
Juventus’ Recent Form
Juventus 0-3 Villarreal (16/03) – Champions League
Sampdoria 1-3 Juventus (12/03) – Serie A
Juventus 1-0 Spezia (06/03) – Serie A
Fiorentina 0-1 Juventus (02/03) – Coppa Italia
Empoli 2-3 Juventus (26/02) – Serie A
Salernitana’s Recent Form
Salernitana 2-2 Sassuolo (12/03) – Serie A
Inter Milan 5-0 Salernitana (04/03) – Serie A
Salernitana 1-1 Bologna (26/02) – Serie A
Salernitana 2-2 AC Milan (19/02) – Serie A
Genoa 1-1 Salernitana (13/02) – Serie A
Prediction
Juve’s ineptitude against deep-lying defences manifested in costly fashion against Villarreal and Salernitana will surely adopt a similar game-plan on Sunday. They can’t afford to surrender space to the Bianconeri.
While the visitors sit bottom of Serie A, they’ve drawn four of their last five and have shown that they’re still fighting for a spot in the top-flight next season. Thus, it could be a tricky contest for a flat Bianconeri who’ll be without Manuel Locatelli in midfield.
The hosts will dominate possession and I suspect it’ll be a matter of attack versus defence for large swathes. Can Juventus create and penetrate on this occasion? They surely will against the league’s worst defence with Paulo Dybala returning to the fold.
Prediction: Juventus 2-0 Salernitana