Serie A title hopefuls Juventus host relegation battlers Salernitana in their first match of 2024 in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 clash at the Allianz Stadium on Thursday, 4 January. The game, which has an 8 PM GMT kickoff, will see two teams fighting for a place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
Even though Juventus and Salernitana are fighting on two ends of the Serie A table, that doesn’t matter in a cup tie. The visitors will be fighting hard to produce a shock result and the Bianconeri need to be smart in seeing through a positive result without injuries or any other set-back.
Last 5 games
Juventus, predictably, have a much better record over the course of the last games over their fellow Serie A side. Massimiliano Allegri’s side have picked up their pace in recent weeks to establish themselves as genuine Serie A contenders.
Juventus
Win: 1-0 vs AS Roma
Win: 2-1 vs Frosinone
Draw: 1-1 vs Genoa
Win: 1-0 vs Napoli
Win: 2-1 vs Monza
Salernitana
Win: 1-0 vs Hellas Verona
Draw: 2-2 vs AC Milan
Loss: 4-1 vs Atalanta
Loss: 2-1 vs Bologna
Loss: 3-0 vs Fiorentina
Predicted Lineups
Juventus are already without some valuable squad players like defenders Mattia de Sciglio and Alex Sandro due to injury issues. The former is in a race against time to make this game, while Moise Kean is expected to miss it. Weston McKennie remains injured too.
Most points won in Europe's big five leagues in 2023:
93 – Man City 92 91 90 89 88 – Atlético Madrid, Barcelona 87 – Inter 86 85 – Aston Villa, Real Madrid 84 – Juventus 83 82 81 – PSG, Liverpool, Arsenal https://t.co/JGxTMZnneL
Allegri is likely to give rest to some key players in this time, with the likes of Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic possibly being on the bench. Inspite of that, Juventus’ decent depth of options and home advantage gives them the edge heading into this clash.
Salernitana are also not being helped at all by their injury issues throughout this season. Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will need to pass a late fitness test to be back for this, while striker Boulaye Dia is injured. On top of that, young defenders Flavius Daniluc and Lorenzo Pirole are injured – as is midfielder Grigoris Kastanos.
Predicted Lineups
Juventus : Mattia Perin (GK), Daniele Rugani, Gleison Bremer, Danilo, Timothy Weah, Fabio Miretti, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Samuel Iling-Junior, Arkandiusz Milik, Kenan Yildiz
Juventus have had the better of Salernitana for the majority of the matches that they have played in their history. In their six Serie A matches since dating back to 1998, the Bianconeri have come out as victors on four occasions and only lost once.
Their last match took place in the league in February 2023, when Juventus were able to run riot at Salernitana’s own stadium. A brace from Dusan Vlahovic and a goal from Filip Kostic helped them get the deal done.
Where the game will be decided
Even though Allegri is likely to rotate his side for this Coppa Italia game, he will be urging Juventus to play on the front foot and control possession for the majority of the game against the visiting side.
Salernitana will mostly be ready to sit back, soak up pressure and hit them on the counter-attacks and also take advantage of set-pieces to trouble the hosts. Juventus need to maintain utmost concentration throughout the game, because their opponents have some tricks up their sleeve that can surprise them.
Juventus will need to be clinical in finishing off the chances created to get a comfortable win and will hope that the likes of Vlahovic or Chiesa don’t need to be used much for this game.
Prediction
We are backing Allegri’s side to get a relatively comfortable win in this match. The Bianconeri have tapped into another gear over the last few weeks and are operating with a lot of momentum by their side.
Salernitana will probably put up a decent fight and make the hosts work, but Juventus have too much power in their attacking force to see through this cup tie without any major issues.
Prediction: Juventus 3-1 Salernitana
Odds
Juventus win
When it comes to the upcoming Juventus v Salernitana clash, the bookmakers are overwhelmingly on the side of the hosts as Bet365 has given the Bianconeri a 9/20 odds, meaning if one was to bet $1 on them winning – they’d get a profit of just $0.45 and return of $1.45. Sky Bet has a Juventus win at 4/9 odds, meaning a $1 bet would fetch one a profit of $0.44 for a Juventus win.
Betfair has a 40/85 odds in favour of Massimiliano Allegri’s side, giving a meagre $0.47 gains on a $1 bet.
Draw
Bet365 has given a 16/5 odds on a draw, meaning a $1 bet could fetch you a $3.20 profit – while Sky Bet’s 100/30 odds for a stalemate assures a profit of $3.33 for someone who successfully predicts a draw and if that result comes true.
Salernitana win
The away side have been given a 6/1 odds by all three bookmakers, assuring a $6 profit for every $1 bet on a Salernitana win. There is no real surprise to these odds considering the recent form of the two teams.
Going by how the odds are overwhelmingly in Juventus’ favour, it’d be wise to bet on their strengths itself. While betting on a Juventus win can catch a meagre profit, a better profit could be on a 2-0 win for the hosts – that can catch you $7 for every $1 bet.
Special deals
Certain bookmakers have special offers in place for those looking to sign up for betting through their platforms. For one, Bet365 and Sky Bet are offering a £30 free bets for signing up with £10, with these free credits being able to be used for the settlement of the deposit.
Bet365 also gives a 2 Goals early payout special offer, meaning you can get a single bet paid out early if the team you back gets ahead by two goals. Sky Bet has an Acca Freeze offer, which allows you to freeze a winning score and get a return for the same.
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