Having seen their progress checked last week in Rome, Juventus return to Serie A duty on Sunday, when they host struggling Sampdoria at the Allianz Stadium.

The teams meet in Turin, heading in opposite directions, as despite their defeat Juve are on the road to recovery from a 15-point penalty and have plenty to play for in the cups, while 20th-placed Samp seem set for relegation.

Match preview

After losing last weekend to fall further behind in the Serie A standings - where Champions League qualification rivals Roma now sit 12 points clear of the Bianconeri - Juventus must start another long winning run if they are to claim a top-four finish from the ashes of a troubled campaign.

Moise Kean's late red card in the 1-0 defeat to Roma was Juve's fifth in the top flight this season - the league's highest tally, alongside Empoli - and such ill discipline has undermined hopes of defying their points penalty to regain a place among Calcio's elite.

Only three times under current coach Max Allegri have Juventus lost back-to-back league fixtures - though twice since he rejoined the club last term - so they will now expect to recover quickly in their more modest pursuit of overtaking sixth-placed Atalanta in the weeks ahead.

Such a finish would be far from satisfactory given the weight of history and expectation in their part of Turin, but it would secure a return to the Europa League - a competition in which Allegri's men are just 90 minutes away from the quarter-finals.

Now providing the most probable route to a Champions League place for next season, and coming with the added bonus of silverware, the last eight of Europe's second-tier tournament is within touching distance for the Old Lady following a 1-0 win over Freiburg on Thursday evening.

Victory in the first leg of their last-16 tie - courtesy of a goal from Angel Di Maria - means that Juventus still have ambitions in Europe as well as the Coppa Italia, where they meet old foes Inter in next month's semi-finals.

More immediately, before travelling to Germany's Black Forest for the return leg they tackle Sampdoria, and Juve have won their last seven Serie A meetings with the Blucerchiati on home soil.

Only once before have Sampdoria suffered eight straight league losses to Sunday's hosts in Turin, and not for over 70 years, which demonstrates the growing gulf between the two sides in recent times.

They did, however, manage a goalless draw in August's reverse fixture, ending a streak of six consecutive defeats to the Bianconeri, and now aim to avoid defeat in both meetings of a season for the first time since 2013.

Dejan Stankovic's side may see even such a moderate feat as being unlikely, though, given their ongoing woes this season: they sit bottom of the pile in the Italian top flight following last week's stalemate with Salernitana.

Still without a single home win after a close-fought 0-0 draw, Sampdoria have scored the fewest goals of any team throughout the top five European leagues this season (only 11); eight of 10 previous sides to have scored so few at this stage of a Serie A season have ultimately been relegated.

Events at the other end of the pitch have barely gone better: in 2023, Samp have faced 17 shots on goal per game on average, again the worst such record of any club in Europe's top five leagues.

As a result, the Genoese giants sit 12 points from safety and are inching ever closer to the Serie A trapdoor, with their next two road trips sending them first to Turin, then to the capital for an encounter with in-form Roma.

Team News

While Max Allegri has fitness concerns over Federico Chiesa and Angel Di Maria after Thursday's Europa League victory, Juventus will welcome Paul Pogba back into the fold following his midweek omission for disciplinary reasons. The French midfielder turned up late for training and was subsequently censured, but Allegri can now consider his claims for a first start after several months sidelined by injury.

Mattia De Sciglio is available too, but Alex Sandro has a thigh problem which may require Leonardo Bonucci to step up from the bench and fill the Brazilian's place in Juve's back three.

While Arkadiusz Milik remains injured and Moise Kean is suspended due to his senseless sending-off in Rome, Dusan Vlahovic should start up front again. The latter has failed to find the net in his last four Serie A appearances; he has never gone five successive starts without scoring since moving to Italy from Serbia.

In addition to his European exploits, no player has created more chances in Serie A (25) than midweek match-winner Angel Di Maria in 2023 - with three goals and three assists also on his record since the turn of the year - but given his age and recent injury issues he could be rested on Sunday.

Sampdoria arrive at the Allianz Stadium without first-choice goalkeeper Emil Audero, who has sustained a potentially serious shoulder injury, so Nicola Ravaglia or teenager Martin Turk will start instead.

Hopes of scoring a rare goal are boosted by the return from suspension of Manolo Gabbiadini, but Sam Lammers is out injured. Abdelhamid Sabiri may drop to the bench, while Filip Djuricic could now feature having returned to full training on Thursday.

Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Bremer, Bonucci, Danilo; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Miretti; Vlahovic

Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Ravaglia; Gunter, Nuytinck, Amione; Zanoli, Winks, Rincon, Augello; Djuricic; Rodriguez, Gabbiadini

We say: Juventus 1-0 Sampdoria

Masters of the 1-0 win, Juventus were dealt a taste of their own medicine last weekend, but they should surely build on Thursday's success by getting the better of downtrodden Samp. The visitors can barely buy a goal, while their hosts tend to find a way past even the deepest defence - quite often through set-pieces.


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