Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri will become the first to reach a thousand points in Serie A if his Juventus side beats Empoli at the Allianz Stadium.
The Old Lady have won 13 of their last 16 league games and are looking for their sixth consecutive win on Saturday evening, having conceded just two goals in their previous five outings.
Striker Dusan Vlahovic’s return to form is spearheading the Bianconeri’s quest to regain the Serie A title that has been absent from the trophy cabinet since 2020. His brace in last weekend’s 3-0 win against Lecce means the Serbian international has now netted five times in his last three outings.
Empoli arrive in Turin off the back of an impressive 3-0 home win over Monza in Davide Nicola’s first match in charge since replacing Aurelio Andreazzoli at the helm. That much needed win was the Tuscan side’s first since November 12, when they shocked Napoli with a 1-0 win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
A trip to the current Serie A leaders is a daunting task but former Torino boss Nicola would love to return home with at least a point.
Results from their last five matches across all competitions
Juventus
W W W W W
Empoli
L D L L W
Team News
Juventus will be without Federico Chiesa and Adrien Rabiot, who are both recovering from injury. Moise Kean is also absent as he closes in on a move to Atletico Madrid. New signing Thiago Djalo is also likely to have a watching brief. The impressive teenager Kenan Yildiz should once again partner Vlahovic in attack.
The infirmary at Empoli is still full to bursting, with eight senior players still unavailable to Nicola although last weekend’s hattrick hero, Szymon Zurkowski, will be part of a three-pronged attack alongside Alberto Cerri and on-loan Nicolo Cambiaghi, who has been subject of much transfer speculation over a move to Milan.
Predicted XI’s
Juventus (3-5-2): Szczesny; Alex Sandro, Bremer, Gatti; Kostic, Miretti, Locatelli, McKennie, Cambiaso; Yildiz, Vlahovic
Empoli (3-4-2-1) Caprile; Ismajli, Walukiewicz, Luperto; Bereszynski, Marlin, Grassi, Gyasi; Zurkowski, Cerri, Cambiaghi
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Steve Mitchell | GIFN
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