Still in contention for European football next season, Juventus aim to stay in touch with Serie A's top six by taking three points home from Sassuolo on Sunday.

Beaten by second-placed Lazio last time out in the league, Juve's points deduction leaves them with plenty of ground to make up; meanwhile, their hosts have followed a four-match winning run with just one point from their last two games.

Match preview

Bouncing back at the first opportunity from a disappointing defeat in Rome last week, Juventus put one foot in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday, with an edgy 1-0 win over Sporting in Turin.

Though Wojciech Szczesny was withdrawn before the break due to feeling chest pain, regular cup keeper Mattia Perin stepped into the breach and made several smart saves to preserve a lead earned by the unlikely figure of Federico Gatti - the return leg in Lisbon awaits next week.

A controversial Coppa Italia draw against Inter earlier this month means their semi-final tie in Italy's cup competition remains in the balance ahead of its second leg, but the Old Lady could yet secure silverware from a crisis-hit campaign.

Lifting either trophy may be Juve's best route back into European competition, as their 2-1 reverse against Lazio leaves them seventh in the Serie A standings - four points shy of the top six.

Having been docked 15 points in January, Max Allegri's men are now eight adrift of Milan in the final Champions League place, so only victory will do on Sunday.

While Juventus have lost two of their last three away matches in the league - both at Stadio Olimpico - they have won on five of their last six visits to the Mapei Stadium and also beat Sassuolo 3-0 in August's reverse fixture.

In all, Sassuolo have lost 14 times out of 19 against Juventus since reaching Serie A, which reflects the gulf in stature between two very different clubs.

More recently, though, the Emilians have won three of their last four meetings with opponents inside the league's top seven, as a promising start to 2023 continues.

Sassuolo have won three of five home fixtures during the second part of the season, already equalling their tally from the first half of the campaign, and sit comfortably in mid-table approaching the run-in.

However, the Neroverdi's recent four-game unbeaten run was ended by relegation-threatened Hellas Verona last week, when they blew a lead in the final 10 minutes to go down 2-1 at Stadio Bentegodi.

Set to meet his former club Empoli and then Salernitana before the end of the month, head coach Alessio Dionisi may expect more from those encounters than a visit from the Old Lady, but he will also demand a suitable response to his team's capitulation in Verona.

Team News

After making his latest substitute appearance on the long road to recovery against Sporting, Paul Pogba is available for selection on Sunday, though is again likely to start on the bench.

While it remains to be seen whether Wojciech Szczesny will return in goal after medical examinations to investigate a potential heart problem - Mattia Perin is on standby - Alex Sandro is certain to miss out for Juventus, as he serves a suspension.

Arkadiusz Milik was promoted to the starting XI in midweek, and Dusan Vlahovic could return to join him up front at the Mapei Stadium. The latter has scored four Serie A goals against Sassuolo in the past, including a brace in this season's reverse fixture; however, he has not found the net in his last eight league games - his worst such run since moving to Italy.

Having aggravated an adductor problem last week, Domenico Berardi's participation is in some doubt, and Sassuolo's talismanic attacker may be replaced by Nedim Bajrami. Incidentally, Berardi has scored just one of his 107 Serie A goals against Juventus.

Meanwhile, in midfield, Matheus Henrique could return at Abdou Harroui's expense, joining Juve transfer target Davide Frattesi in a central trio also featuring Maxime Lopez.

Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Toljan, Erlic, Ruan, Rogerio; Frattesi, Lopez, Henrique; Bajrami, Pinamonti, Lauriente

Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Danilo, Bremer, Gatti; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Paredes, Rabiot, Kostic; Milik, Vlahovic

We say: Sassuolo 0-1 Juventus

A flood of goals before the international break has slowed to a trickle since their return, so Sassuolo should find breaking down Juve's steadfast defence a serious challenge.

Calcio's king of pragmatism, Max Allegri would happily take 1-0 wins from every game his team play, and they can record the same result in Reggio-Emilia this weekend.


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