Scudetto holders Juventus host a desperate Palermo side in a Friday night match this week. Max Allegri will use this game as his final preparation before the Champions League last 16 tie against Porto on Wednesday. The Bianconeri enter the match in winning form having compiled six straight wins and now welcome a relegation threatened Palermo side. Surprisingly however, the Rosanero have had impressive showings against teams at the top of the table. In the last month they have managed to draw at Napoli and narrowly lost 1-0 to Inter. Diego Lopez will look to those performances to motivate his players.

 

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini's antics seem to have finally caught up with the him. Once again on a multiple coach season, the Sicilians are sitting on 14 points in 18th position and look destined for relegation with eight points separating them from 17th place Empoli.



The most impressive player for Palermo of late has been Ilija Nestorovski. The Macedonian striker has nine goals and is attracting interest from many different suitors. The Palermo attack is completed by Trajkovski and Embalo occupying the flanks. In the midfield, the visitors will likely field Henrique, Jajalo, and Chochev, the trio will have a mental and physical challenge playing against their skilled and experienced Juve counterparts . In between the posts, shaky Posavec remains the current Palermo number one. He has had a flurry of appearances of late with some spectacular saves combined with daunting mistakes. 

 

In the eyes of the Juventus faithful, Allegri’s team are built to win the Champions League. Should the Bianconeri play to their potential every match with the same high tempo and fast ball movement that has coincided with the recent formation change, they can only continue to maintain their dominance. Their consistent work rate both in attack and defence and their attention to detail make them a difficult opponent.

For the home tie on Friday, Sami Khedira seems poised to finally get a rest after having started every game in the Serie A going back to week 12. Claudio Marchisio looks set to replace the German and play alongside Miralem Pjanic as the two holding midfielders. Further forward, Mandzukic will probably also be rested ahead of the Champions League game next week, with fellow Croatian Marko Pjaca taking his place.

 

Dybala and Cuadrado complete the potent attacking trio, in support of capocannoniere hopeful Gonzalo Higuain. In defence Giorgio Chiellini remains out through injury, and Daniele Rugani will likely take up his role alongside Bonucci in the centre. 

 

This game is a deeply important for Allegri and his players. Juve will not want to overlook Serie A and be thinking too early about the Porto game. The Bianconeri will want a strong showing to keep confidence high. For Diego Lopez, he will know that escaping the J Stadium with even a point is an enormous task all visiting sides and it would take a real miracle for the Rosanero to come out of this match with any points. 

 

Probable starting lineups:
 

Juventus (4-2-3-1) Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Rugani, A. Sandro; Pjanic, Marchisio; Cuadrado, Dybala, Pjaca; Higuain
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Palermo (4-3-3) Posavec; Rispoli, Gonzalez, Goldaniga, Pezzella; Henrique, Jajalo, Chochev; Embalo, Nestorovsky, Trajkovski