Juventus vs Venezia Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Juventus will be keen to get back to winning ways at home when they take on a struggling Venezia in the early kick-off at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

Juventus will take on a struggling Venezia as they look to return to winning ways at home on Sunday. The Bianconeri are currently on a two-game winless streak at the Allianz Stadium, drawing and losing a game apiece.

They have not endured a run of three games sans a win at home since 2015 and will be keen to avoid that. Juventus face the perfect opponents in Venezia, who are on an eight-match losing streak right now.

With just four games to go in Serie A this season, the Bianconeri are in a strong position to finish in the top four. Unless they suffer a collapse of monumental proportions, Juventus will play UEFA Champions League football next season.

They could even rise to third should Napoli’s recent slip up continue. Massimiliano Allegri’s men have nothing more to play for in the league, and it will be curious to see how they approach the remaining games.

The same cannot be said of the visitors, who have much to play for. Venezia are currently rock bottom and six points adrift of safety. With just five games to go, they face a do or die situation going into the game. Juventus will not have an easy ride on the night, but their quality should prove to be significant in the game. The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up on the night and what tactics might be employed.

Team News & Tactics

Juventus

It has not been a vintage season for Massimiliano Allegri and his charges as they have struggled for the majority of the campaign. Despite the poor form, Juventus have managed to eke out results and look set to finish in the top four.

Federico Chiesa, Weston McKennie and Kaio Jorge are all on the sidelines and will play no role on Sunday. Allegri will also be without Juan Cuadrado, Mattia De Sciglio and potentially Arthur Melo, who trained partially on Thursday. Manuel Locatelli is also nearing a return, but the game against Venezia will have come too early for the Italian international.

Given the players at his disposal, Allegri is likely to set his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Wojciech Szczesny will start in goal behind the back four of Danilo, Matthijs de Light, Leandro Bonucci and Luca Pellegrini. With Cuadrado out, the onus will be on Danilo to push up and support Federico Bernardeschi in the final third.

Denis Zakaria and Adrien Rabiot will likely start in Juventus’s double pivot. Their abilities to carry the ball forward and join the attack could prove pivotal in kick-starting moves from the back. Bernardeschi will start on the right flank, with Alvaro Morata occupying the other wing. The latter is likely to drift into central areas and link up with Dusan Vlahovic upfront. This could prompt Rabiot move to the left.

Paulo Dybala will start in the attacking midfielder’s role and will be responsible for pulling the strings in the final third. His ability to link the midfield to the attack should make life easier for Vlahovic.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Danilo, de Ligt, Bonucci, Pellegrini; Bernardeschi, Zakaria, Rabiot, Morata; Dybala, Vlahovic

Venezia

The Italian minnows have been in free fall for some time now and are bottom of Serie A with five games to go. A trip to Juventus has proven to be a daunting task for the Venetian side in recent years, and it is difficult to see them experience anything different this time as well.

Interim boss Andrea Soncin will travel to Turin without Marco Modolo, Tyronne Ebuehi, Sergio Romero and Luca Lezzerini, who are all out for Sunday’s game. If anything, this makes his task harder, especially coming off the back of an eight-game losing streak.

Soncin is likely to line his side up in a 4-3-3 formation. With points desperately needed, they might as well go for it and try to catch Juventus out. The Bianconeri have been stunned by several teams this season and could be found out once again if they are complacent.

Niki Maenpaa will start in goal behind a back four of Ales Mateju, Mattia Caldara, Pietro Ceccaroni and Ridgeciano Haps. Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu will start in the middle of the park and will have a key role in trying to upstage Zakaria on Sunday.

The Welshman will be accompanied by Domen Crnigoj and Michael Cuisance. The duo will be expected to get stuck in and disrupt the Juventus midfield. This could give Venezia an opening or two to push forward and play the front three into good positions. Mattia Aramu and David Okereke will start up front on either side of Thomas Henry. The onus will be on them to step up and take the game to the Juventus backline.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Maenpaa; Mateju, Caldara, Ceccaroni, Haps; Crnigoj, Ampadu, Cuisance; Aramu, Henry, Okereke

Key Stats

• Juventus have defeated Venezia in 15 of their last 18 encounters. Juventus and AC Milan have defeated Venezia 16 times in Serie A so far, the most by any single team in the Italian minnows history in Serie A.
• Should Venezia avoid defeat on the night, it will be the first time since the 1941/42 campaign that they will have gone unbeaten against Juventus over both league games in the season.
• Should Juventus win on the night, Venezia will become the third Venetian based side that the Bianconeri will have beaten ten times in a row at home. The other two teams are Verona and Vicenza.
• Juventus are winless in their last two home games in the league. They last failed to win three games in a row at home in 2015.
• A loss on the night will see Venezia lose nine league games in a row, their worst losing streak over a single season.

Player to Watch

Denis Zakaria

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The Swiss international has been sensational for Juventus since joining them in the January transfer window. With Manuel Locatelli and possibly Arthur Melo unavailable, the onus will be on Zakaria to keep the Juventus midfield intact on the night.

Zakaria also has excellent ball carrying skills and can help kickstart attacks. As long as he gets the better of Ampadu, Juventus will gain the foothold in the middle of the park. It could pave the way for them to launch waves of attacks that could prove pivotal.

Prediction

Juventus 2-0 Venezia

Venezia need points on the board, and it is in their best interests to play for all three points. However, it will not be easy against Juventus, who have better players in every single position.

The Bianconeri, despite their injuries, are a formidable side and can afford to keep things simple on the night. Given the visitors’ recent form, it is difficult to see anything other than a Juventus win on Sunday. Should Juventus fail to show enough grit, they might be in for a difficult night.