The Bianconeri have pulled off 87 league triumphs against the Rome-based club, only suffering 36 losses, and will arrive at the Stadio Olimpico in a buoyant mood as they lie fourth in the Serie A table.
Juventus have bounced back from their shock 1-0 reversal at lowly Parma by picking up precious points in the race for Champions League qualification.
With the Scudetto battle narrowed down to Inter Milan and Napoli, plus Atalanta comfortably in third, there’s a remarkably close fight for fourth position to ensure involvement in next season’s Champions League.
Four-team race
AS Roma, Bologna, Juventus and Lazio are the four teams in the mix to secure involvement in Europe’s leading club competition.
This is the first time, since three points were awarded for victory, that three Serie A teams are on level points with three matches left.
Juve only lie ahead of AS Roma and Lazio on goal difference. Juventus have a superior goal difference of two over AS Roma and seven over Lazio. Although AS Roma are the Serie A’s in-form club, they tend not to score many goals.
There’s the same lack of scoring problem for Juve interim head coach Igor Tudor, which he has yet to fix. Yet Juventus have produced the most Serie A goals on the counter-attack this season (10).
Tudor could have his attackers banging in the goals after tackling Lazio, with Turkish talent Kenan Yildiz back from suspension to face mid-table Udinese and relegation-threatened Venezia.
At the pre-match press conference, Tudor was optimistic and said: “There are only a few games left of the league season, but there is still a long way to go.
Tudor shows conviction
“Against Lazio it will be an important game, but not a decisive one. I am convinced and we are all convinced that we will qualify for next season’s Champions League.
“Marco Baroni [Lazio head coach] has an experienced team with fit players. Many of them have been there for many years, and therefore the team can count on a strong identity. We will need maximum attention to detail from all points of view.
“Without a shadow of a doubt we all want to finish this season in the best possible way, qualifying for next season’s Champions League.”
Star striker returns
Dusan Vlahovic, who has missed the past one-and-half games because of a thigh injury, returns to the squad.
With his Juventus future in the balance, and having not scored since Tudor took the reins in late March, the Serbia striker will be desperately keen to break his goal drought in Rome to impress potential new suitors.
With Lazio on a five-match run of Serie A home draws, and 1-1 the most frequent result between Lazio and Juventus, a stalemate seems highly likely for Saturday’s mouth-watering contest.
Although maximum points for one of the teams will propel them into pole position to qualify for the Champions League, the Lazio clash is not a do or die crunch match for Juventus.