Juventus vs Hellas Verona – News and Probable Lineups

Juventus will look to maintain their position in the top four of Serie A as they take on struggling Hellas Verona on Sunday evening.

After a goalless draw against AC Milan last week, Juve holds a three-point advantage in the Champions League qualification race, while Verona finds themselves on the brink of relegation.

Match overview

Juventus is in a solid position to secure their spot at the elite level in Europe, having capitalized on recent missteps from fellow rivals Como and Roma to build a lead in the contest for fourth place.

However, with just four rounds to go, only eight points separate five teams chasing behind title favorites Inter de Milão, making the outcome potentially very close.

As such, Juventus needs to take full advantage of a comparatively manageable fixture schedule ahead, facing Lecce, Fiorentina, and city rivals Torino—whom they have historically dominated—after this clash with Verona.

Luciano Spalletti’s squad has timed their surge perfectly, winning five of their last seven league matches, conceding only one goal in that span; last week’s stalemate against Milan extended their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions.

Following a successful effort to keep Milan at bay, the Bianconeri have now achieved four consecutive clean sheets, and since Spalletti took charge in November, they have faced the fewest shots on target in Serie A.

With a matchup against one of the league’s least potent attacks, Juventus have lost just once in their last 21 top-flight contests at home.

Moreover, Juventus has emerged victorious in six of their last eight league encounters with Verona, boasting a strong aggregate score of 13-3.

Despite their efforts until the final whistle, Verona’s recent goalless draw against Lecce seems to have sealed their fate in terms of remaining in Italy’s top division.

With only four matches left to bridge a 10-point gap, a loss on Sunday would mathematically confirm their relegation—if it even gets to that point.

No matter the outcome at the Allianz Stadium, a victory for Lecce on Friday or Cremonese on Monday would ensure that Hellas faces their 10th relegation to Serie B.

Having participated in the top tier for the last eight years, they have been risking their survival for several seasons, with interim manager Paolo Sammarco taking the helm as the situation ultimately unravels.

His team has registered a mere point from their last six outings, netting just one goal in that timeframe, with only two clubs across Europe’s top five leagues recording more defeats this season.

As Verona has never secured an away win at Juventus in Serie A, with 29 losses out of 34 prior encounters, history indicates a challenging task ahead this weekend.

Team News

Only Juan Cabal and Arkadiusz Milik will miss out for Juventus, while attacking talents Dusan Vlahovic and Kenan Yildiz are anticipated to be fit for Sunday’s match.

The latter, who has contributed to 16 goals this season, has been suffering from a persistent knee issue, limiting the Turkey international to substitute appearances in his previous two games.

Over the past two years, Juventus’s winning percentage drops by 36% and they average 0.6 fewer goals per match when Yildiz doesn’t start, although his fitness concerns may see Jeremie Boga take his place once more.

On the other side, Verona’s leading scorer Gift Orban has not found the back of the net since January and was dropped following a recent altercation with a fan.

Thus, Sammarco will likely pair Kieron Bowie with either Tomas Suslov or Amin Sarr; fellow attacker Daniel Mosquera has already undergone season-ending knee surgery.

Furthermore, Hellas is also missing long-term injured players Suat Serdar, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Daniel Oyegoke, and Cheikh Niasse, while Nicolas Valentini is suspended.

Juventus probable starting XI:

Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Boga; David

Hellas Verona probable starting XI:

Montipo; Edmundsson, Nelsson, Frese; Belghali, Akpa Akpro, Gagliardini, Bernede, Bradaric; Suslov; Bowie

The combination of Juventus’s sturdy defense and Verona’s lack of firepower in attack is likely to result in a one-sided affair.

Having never succeeded in a top-flight away match against Juventus, another defeat would ultimately condemn Hellas to Serie B.