Serie A royalty meets provincial upstarts in Thursday's Coppa Italia quarter-final, as Juventus host Frosinone at the Allianz Stadium.

While the Bianconeri are honing in on a domestic double, their visitors - powered by several Juve young guns - have made a solid return to Italy's top flight and knocked out Napoli in the last 16.

Match preview

Most recently cup winners in 2022, when victory over Atalanta BC sealed a record-extending 14th success, Juventus are ultimately intent on lifting the Coppa Italia for a 15th time in May's final at Stadio Olimpico.

Having lost out in a Derby d'Italia semi-final to Inter Milan last term, amid a generally dismal season both on and off the pitch, Juve are now battling with the Nerazzurri for top spot in Serie A and remain on course for more silverware in the cup.

Seeing off Frosinone this week would set up a semi-final versus Lazio, and after grinding their way to 14 league games without defeat, Max Allegri's men may be difficult to stop.

Such form sees Juventus sitting just two points shy of first-placed Inter in the Serie A standings, and they have also conceded no more than once in each of their last 15 home matches - shipping just eight goals in the process.

Juve completed a quickfire double over Salernitana last week, as shortly after they slayed the Salerno club 6-1 in the cup, they then concluded the first half of the season with a more nail-biting 2-1 league win down at Stadio Arechi.

English winger Samuel Iling-Junior provided a 65th-minute equaliser once Salernitana had gone ahead for the second time in three days, and Dusan Vlahovic was the Bianconeri's last-gasp hero: the Serbian's stoppage-time strike finally turned a one-goal deficit around against 10-man opponents.

Frosinone's most recent meeting with Juventus came less than a month ago, just after they had pulled off an incredible upset by thumping Scudetto-holders Napoli 4-0 at Stadio Maradona to reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.

They lost 2-1 on that occasion, with Vlahovic firing home another late winner at Stadio Stirpe, and Eusebio Di Francesco's side have since suffered two more Serie A defeats either side of the New Year celebrations.

Although they now occupy 15th place and are slipping closer to the drop zone, last term's second-tier champions have been present in mid-table for most of their latest comeback campaign, and a series of home wins have been partly due to the input of players loaned from Juve.

Argentinian forward Matias Soule has drawn attention from major clubs around Europe by frequently finding the net, while 22-year-old midfielder Enzo Barrenechea has started regularly and opened the scoring in the Canarini's spectacular cup success over Napoli.

That night in Naples set up Frosinone's first appearance in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, and they have had to do it the hard way: while Juve sauntered in at the last-16 stage, Di Francesco's young squad edged past Pisa and then Torino in two previous rounds.

Now, following back-to-back defeats against Lazio and Monza, an even tougher test awaits in Turin - particularly given Frosinone's failure to win a single Serie A away game so far this term.

Team News

Juventus should have Andrea Cambiaso available for Thursday's quarter-final clash following illness, but Federico Chiesa remains sidelined by a knee injury.

Max Allegri will also be without Moise Kean and Mattia De Sciglio, while Adrien Rabiot sustained a thigh injury during training this week.

Manuel Locatelli served a one-match suspension against Salernitana last time out, but the Italy international could now replace Hans Nicolussi Caviglia in central midfield.

Elsewhere, cup goalkeeper Mattia Perin replaces Wojciech Szczesny as the hosts' last line of defence; Arkadiusz Milik and Dusan Vlahovic battle it out to start up front.

Frosinone, meanwhile, will be free to play their talented trio of Juventus loanees at the Allianz Stadium, so Matias Soule, Kaio Jorge and Enzo Barrenechea will all be looking to impress Allegri as well as help their current club create history by reaching the semi-finals.

Anthony Oyono, Riccardo Marchizza and Jaime Baez are all unavailable due to injury, but back-goalkeeper Pierluigi Frattali can take a place on the bench - his suspension for being sent off in last week's 3-2 defeat to Monza only applies to Serie A.

After training with his new teammates, new signing Kevin Bonifazi - recently loaned from Bologna - is a contender to feature in central defence.

Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Danilo, Bremer, Rugani; Weah, Miretti, Locatelli, McKennie, Kostic; Yildiz, Milik

Frosinone possible starting lineup:
Cerofolini; Monterisi, Okoli, Bonifazi, Lirola; Mazzitelli, Barrenechea, Garritano; Soule, Jorge, Ibrahimovic

We say: Juventus 2-1 Frosinone

Juventus have never lost to Frosinone in Serie A, winning six of seven league encounters, and they are not likely to be beaten in midweek. Despite eliminating Torino and Napoli from the Coppa Italia, the Canarini's away record makes for grim reading, so their talented kids surely cannot cope with rejuvenated Juve.


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