Juventus - Verona
Juventus Stadium
Basement boys Hellas Verona travel to a revitalized Juventus as this could prove vital in the title race and the hunt for survival.
The doom and gloom for the Bianconeri faithful is now over. Seven successive Serie A wins following progression from a tough-looking Champions League group has the Old Lady looking like their old self again.
Paulo Dybala's breathtaking performances have filled a Carlos Tevez shaped hole in the front line and the commanding Giorgio Chiellini is back to his best. With the January transfer window officially open, the search for a trequartista can continue, meaning Max Allegri can return to his favored 4-1-2-1-2 shape.
Verona meanwhile couldn't be in worse condition. Still winless after 17 rounds, bottom of the table and in the midst of an injury crisis, a trip to a very real Scudetto contender could get very ugly very quickly.
Luca Toni will be approaching full fitness, but the morale boost of having the club's all time leading goalscorer and last season's Capocannoniere may not be enough to oust Serie A's strongest squad. Although only a few weeks into the job, Luigi Del Neri must turn things around quickly to avoid the axe, but with vast Serie A experience and time spent as a former Juve Coach, the ex-Roma man will know just how big of a mountain Verona must climb to stand a chance.
Expect Allegri to lead Juventus out in a pressing 3-5-2 formation to try and break Verona down early and seal all three points in the first half. Roberto Pereyra and Kwadwo Asamoah remain long-term absentees, but on the plus side, Mario Mandzukic appears to be growing into his role as a Juventino after an inconsistent start.
Expect Dybala to play in the hole between midfield and attack, while Sami Khedira and Paul Pogba do the legwork beside Claudio Marchisio. Giorgio Chiellini will marshal a back three consisting of himself, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli, while Gianluigi Buffon is on course to make his 608th Serie A appearance, and number 440 in a Juve shirt.
Del Neri will likely set up a defensive 4-2-3-1 formation in attempt to crowd the midfield and spark quick counter-attacks via the wings. With only two points taken from their last five games, Verona have found themselves in an early relegation battle.
Although only two points separate the Mastini from 19th placed Carpi, they currently lie eight points from safety and the crisis bells are ringing. The young Pierluigi Gollini will likely hold his place in goal while the back four will be missing star player Jacopo Sala, but with the experience of Eros Pisano, Vangelis Moras and Samuel Souprayen can keep the young Matteo Bianchetti in check.
Keep an eye on: Paulo Dybala (Juventus) - Signed from Palermo for a reported €42m last summer, the young Argentine has yet to disappoint. Often deployed behind Mandzukic or Alvaro Morata in the Francesco Totti role, he has notched eight goals and three assists in 16 league appearances, and is slowly becoming the Bianconeri's most important player. With a special Centenario Copa America taking place in the USA over the summer, and strikers such as Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez to compete with, the former Palermo man must be at his best for the remainder of the season to stand a chance, and it looks like he's up for the challenge.
Form Guide: Juventus (W W W W W) Hellas Verona (L L L D D)
Last season: Juventus 4-0 Verona
Stat Fact: In 15 attempts Hellas Verona have only managed one victory against Juventus in Serie A history. The solitary win came in April 2000 when a young Fabrizio Cammarata grabbed a brace to down Juventus and hand the title to Lazio.
Juventus (Probable): Buffon; Barzagli, Chiellini, Bonucci; Cuadrado, Pogba, Khedira, Marchisio, Evra; Dybala, Mandzukic
Suspended: None
Verona (Probable): Gollini; Pisano, Bianchetti, Moras, Souprayen; Viviani, Hallfredsson; Wszolek, Ionita, Siligardi; Toni
Suspended: Sala
Words: Samuel Bridges
The doom and gloom for the Bianconeri faithful is now over. Seven successive Serie A wins following progression from a tough-looking Champions League group has the Old Lady looking like their old self again.
Paulo Dybala's breathtaking performances have filled a Carlos Tevez shaped hole in the front line and the commanding Giorgio Chiellini is back to his best. With the January transfer window officially open, the search for a trequartista can continue, meaning Max Allegri can return to his favored 4-1-2-1-2 shape.
Verona meanwhile couldn't be in worse condition. Still winless after 17 rounds, bottom of the table and in the midst of an injury crisis, a trip to a very real Scudetto contender could get very ugly very quickly.
Luca Toni will be approaching full fitness, but the morale boost of having the club's all time leading goalscorer and last season's Capocannoniere may not be enough to oust Serie A's strongest squad. Although only a few weeks into the job, Luigi Del Neri must turn things around quickly to avoid the axe, but with vast Serie A experience and time spent as a former Juve Coach, the ex-Roma man will know just how big of a mountain Verona must climb to stand a chance.
Expect Allegri to lead Juventus out in a pressing 3-5-2 formation to try and break Verona down early and seal all three points in the first half. Roberto Pereyra and Kwadwo Asamoah remain long-term absentees, but on the plus side, Mario Mandzukic appears to be growing into his role as a Juventino after an inconsistent start.
Expect Dybala to play in the hole between midfield and attack, while Sami Khedira and Paul Pogba do the legwork beside Claudio Marchisio. Giorgio Chiellini will marshal a back three consisting of himself, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli, while Gianluigi Buffon is on course to make his 608th Serie A appearance, and number 440 in a Juve shirt.
Del Neri will likely set up a defensive 4-2-3-1 formation in attempt to crowd the midfield and spark quick counter-attacks via the wings. With only two points taken from their last five games, Verona have found themselves in an early relegation battle.
Although only two points separate the Mastini from 19th placed Carpi, they currently lie eight points from safety and the crisis bells are ringing. The young Pierluigi Gollini will likely hold his place in goal while the back four will be missing star player Jacopo Sala, but with the experience of Eros Pisano, Vangelis Moras and Samuel Souprayen can keep the young Matteo Bianchetti in check.
Keep an eye on: Paulo Dybala (Juventus) - Signed from Palermo for a reported €42m last summer, the young Argentine has yet to disappoint. Often deployed behind Mandzukic or Alvaro Morata in the Francesco Totti role, he has notched eight goals and three assists in 16 league appearances, and is slowly becoming the Bianconeri's most important player. With a special Centenario Copa America taking place in the USA over the summer, and strikers such as Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez to compete with, the former Palermo man must be at his best for the remainder of the season to stand a chance, and it looks like he's up for the challenge.
Form Guide: Juventus (W W W W W) Hellas Verona (L L L D D)
Last season: Juventus 4-0 Verona
Stat Fact: In 15 attempts Hellas Verona have only managed one victory against Juventus in Serie A history. The solitary win came in April 2000 when a young Fabrizio Cammarata grabbed a brace to down Juventus and hand the title to Lazio.
Juventus (Probable): Buffon; Barzagli, Chiellini, Bonucci; Cuadrado, Pogba, Khedira, Marchisio, Evra; Dybala, Mandzukic
Suspended: None
Verona (Probable): Gollini; Pisano, Bianchetti, Moras, Souprayen; Viviani, Hallfredsson; Wszolek, Ionita, Siligardi; Toni
Suspended: Sala
Words: Samuel Bridges
Despite a poor start to the season Massimiliano Allegri's side are back in the title chase as they kick off the second half of their campaign
Sami Khedira says tactical improvements have spread confidence throughout Juventus' ranks as they approach a return to Serie A action against Verona on Wednesday.
Following the departures of key players such as Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez, the defending champions endured a sluggish start to the season, winning just three of their opening 10 fixtures and sitting 11 points off Roma in pole position.
However, a run of seven straight victories has put Massimiliano Allegri's side back in the hunt for a fifth successive Scudetto.
They start the year in fourth position, just three points adrift of leaders Inter, and Khedira believes increased solidity has been key to restoring Juve's self-esteem and making them a formidable opponent once again.
"The most important thing now is that the team keeps pushing on to win more matches," he told Juventus' official website.
"As we have seen in recent games in the league, we are all playing with more confidence, we're set up better tactically, we score more goals and concede less.
"I think it's normal that we took a bit of time to get going, after changing so many players, but now we've all settled in, we're performing well and getting results regardless of who is on the pitch."
"We've trained very hard since returning from our holidays. We've done a lot of running and tactical work which will stand us in good stead for the second part of the season.
"On Wednesday we have a tough match, as it's the first one after the Christmas break, but it's one which we need to win in order to keep up the pressure on Inter at the top of the table.
"We're also at home which perhaps makes victory even more important, but we've had a good week's training, we're very focused on the task at hand and so I'm optimistic about our chances of taking maximum points."
Verona are still winless in the top flight this season with Luigi Delneri's only victory since replacing Andrea Mandorlini in December coming in the last-gasp 1-0 triumph over Pavia in the Coppa Italia.
Historically, Verona have struggled at Juventus, failing to beat them in 26 Serie A trips to Turin.
They have been boosted by forward Juanito Gomez's return to training after he missed the 1-1 draw with Sassuolo last time out, but Jacopo Sala will be absent as the midfielder serves a suspension.
Juventus duo Mario Mandzukic and Andrea Barzagli are lacking fitness, while Leonardo Bonucci trained separately from the group on Sunday after overcoming an illness.
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