The weekend starts early for Massimiliano Allegri, with Juventus visiting Genoa on Friday evening.
With Bianconeri winning their game against Venezia and Roma drawing theirs, Juventus have already secured a place in the next season’s Champions League. However, the temptation for the Old Lady will be to dodge Napoli, who are currently one point ahead of Juve.
On the other hand, Genoa are on the brink of getting relegated from Serie A. With 25 points from 35 games, the RossoblĂą remain second-last in the league table. A defeat on Friday could be a step towards demotion.
Juventus have not been at their best in recent times. The positivity that the club enjoyed after the arrival of Dusan Vlahovic in the winter transfer market has somewhat faded away, although the club has not stopped yielding results. But it is the optimism in the gameplay that the Bianconeri fans are seeking at the moment. As for Genoa, there is just one win from their last five Serie A fixtures.
The current form (in the last five matches in Serie A)
Genoa: L-L-L-W-L
Juventus: W-W-D-W-L
Team News
Genoa will likely miss Zinho Vanheusden, Nicolo Rovella, Andrea Cambiaso, Lennart Czyborra, Nikola Maksimovic and Roberto Piccoli. Losing Rovella to injury has proved to be a huge knock. There is no one missing through suspension, though.
Juan Cuadrado and Mattia De Sciglio are reported to be back and could play part in the game against Genoa, but there is no place for Danilo in the squad making the trip. Federico Chiesa, Manuel Locatelli, Kaio Jorge and Weston McKennie are still sidelined with injuries.
Predicted XIs
Genoa: Sirigu; Frendrup, Bani, Ostigard, Vasquez; Sturaro, Badelj, Portanova, Amiri; Ekuban, Destro
Juventus (4-3-3): Szczesny; Cuadrado, Bonucci, Rugani, De Sciglio; Arthur, Miretti, Rabiot; Dybala, Vlahovic, Kean
If Juventus maintain the rhythm portrayed in the game against Sassuolo, Genoa could be there for another setback.
