Juventus have their sights set on Napoli in third as they take on bottom of the table Venezia in Serie A on Sunday.
Moise Kean’s late winner at the Mapei on Monday night all but sealed a Champions League berth for the Bianconeri next season, with AS Roma now eight points adrift in fifth after they were beaten by Inter Milan last weekend.
Napoli’s collapse at Empoli on Sunday saw them slide out of Scudetto contention, and they’re now just a point better off than Juve in the Serie A table with four games remaining.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side will be expected to claim all three points at lunchtime this Sunday with the league’s poorest outfit visiting the Allianz Stadium. Venezia, despite their talent at various positions, have lost their last eight in Serie A and they parted ways with manager Paolo Zanetti in the build-up to the weekend’s trip to Turin.
The Venetians haven’t claimed a point in the league since mid-February, and their woeful form means they’re now six points adrift of safety (with a game in hand on 17th-placed Cagliari, mind).
Juventus vs Venezia Serie A preview
Here’s our preview of Juventus’ upcoming Serie A clash with Venezia on Sunday.
How to watch Juventus vs Venezia
When is kick-off? Sunday 1 May
What time is kick-off? 11:30 (BST)
Where is it played? Allianz Stadium
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport 1 (UK), Paramount+ (US)
Referee? Alessandro Prontera
Juventus Team News
Preparations continue for Sunday lunch-time’s #JuveVenezia 🍽
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) April 28, 2022
Juventus’ injury list has lengthened once more. Although, Arthur Melo trained partially with the group on Thursday and could be involved on Saturday following a couple of weeks out with an ankle injury.
However, the Bianconeri will be without Juan Cuadrado and Mattia De Sciglio for Sunday’s game, while Weston McKennie has the Coppa Italia final in his sights as a potential return date.
Manuel Locatelli might not be risked before the season’s up with Federico Chiesa and Kaio Jorge long-term absentees.
Venezia Team News
Interim boss Andrea Soncin will be without Marco Modolo (knee), Tyronne Ebuehi (hamstring), Sergio Romero (knee) and Luca Lezzerini for Sunday’s game.
It’ll be interesting to see how Soncin lines the Venezia side up for the trip to Juve with a refresh surely needed.
Juventus vs Venezia Predicted Lineups
Juventus: Szczesny; Danilo, De Ligt, Bonucci, Pellegrini; Bernardeschi, Zakaria, Rabiot, Morata; Dybala, Vlahovic.
Venezia: Maenpaa; Mateju, Caldara, Ceccaroni, Ullman; Busio, Ampadu, Cuisance; Aramu, Henry, Okereke.
Juventus’ Recent Form
Sassuolo 1-2 Juventus (25/04) – Serie A
Juventus 2-0 Fiorentina (20/04) – Coppa Italia
Juventus 1-1 Bologna (16/04) – Serie A
Cagliari 1-2 Juventus (09/04) – Serie A
Juventus 0-1 Inter Milan (03/04) – Serie A
Venezia’s Recent Form
Venezia 1-3 Atalanta (23/04) – Serie A
Fiorentina 1-0 Venezia (16/04) – Serie A
Venezia 1-2 Udinese (10/04) – Serie A
Spezia 1-0 Venezia (02/04) – Serie A
Venezia 0-2 Sampdoria (20/03) – Serie A
Prediction
Venezia are Serie A’s most out of form side and their 3-1 defeat to Atalanta last weekend proved to be the final straw for manager Zanetti. The promotion of former Primavera coach Soncin is their final bid for survival, and they have to start claiming points from somewhere.
Thus, Juve must be wary of the visitors’ desperation in this one and the potential of Soncin rejuvenating a despondent group of players. Venezia are blessed with a fairly talented core, and they took two points off the Bianconeri in the reverse fixture last December.
The timing of Sunday’s contest casts further doubt over whether Juve will sweep Venezia aside. The Bianconeri are continuing to grind through matches, and more grit may be required in this one in an early kick-off.
Nevertheless, I think Allegri’s side will grab all three points, but I expect Soncin’s side to make it tougher than most expect.
Prediction: Juve 2-1 Venezia