Juventus will bring the curtain down on another successful domestic season when they host rivals Roma at the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening.
The Old Lady secured their ninth successive title with victory over Sampdoria last weekend, yet succumbed to a dismal 2-0 defeat to mid-table Cagliari in mid-week.
As for Roma, their fifth-place finish was assured following their entertaining 3-2 win over struggling Torino on Wednesday, with former Premier League stars Edin Dzeko and Chris Smalling both on the scoresheet.
That result saw I Giallorossi continue their fine run of recent form heading into this clash, albeit they have already been beaten three times by the title winners this season – in both Serie A and in the Coppa Italia.
Here’s 90min’s extensive preview of this upcoming fixture…
When is Kick Off? Saturday 1 August
What Time is Kick Off? 19:45 (BST)
Where is it Played? Allianz Arena
TV Channel/Live Stream? Premier Sports 1, LiveScore App
The hosts were without a number of key individuals in their defeat in midweek and it looks to be a similar scenario on Saturday.
Boss Maurizio Sarri will definitely be unable to field long-term absentees Giorgio Chiellini, Sami Khedira and Mattia De Sciglio, while Paulo Dybala, and Douglas Costa are also likely to be unavailable. One positive note for the former Chelsea manager will be that midfielder Adrien Rabiot will once again be eligible for selection following his return from suspension.
As for the visitors, there will be a notable absentee in the form of midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini, who recently had surgery on a broken nose. Manager Paulo Fonseca could make a number of changes for the trip to Turin, with a vital Europa League clash to come against Sevilla on 6 August.
Juventus: Buffon; Danilo, Demiral, Rugani, Alex Sandro; Matuidi, Rabiot, Ramsey; Bernardeschi, Higuain, Ronaldo.
Roma: Lopez; Smalling, Fazio, Kolarov; Peres, Veretout, Diawara, Spinazzola; Zaniolo, Mkhitaryan; Kalinic.
It’s not exactly been the most joyful way to win a league title for Juventus, with their recent form laying bare a number of frailties that have plagued them this season. A run of just two wins from their last seven outings has made this one of the club’s less comfortable Scudetto victories in recent history – with Antonio Conte’s Inter and entertaining Atalanta hot on their trails.
That being said, while their have been low points in this disjointed Serie A season, Juve are still worthy champions and remain one of the favourites to take home the Champions League trophy at the end of August.
As for their away side, they couldn’t really be in any better form having won six of their last seven fixtures, including a 6-1 thrashing of bottom club S.P.A.L. Their seven game unbeaten run may not have been enough to propel them into a top four spot, yet it has enabled them to secure fifth place ahead of a resurgent AC Milan side.
Here’s a look at both side’s last five fixtures:
Juventus
Cagliari 2-0 Juventus (29/07/2020)
Juventus 2-0 Sampdoria (26/07/2020)
Udinese 2-1 Juventus (23/07/2020)
Juventus 2-1 Lazio (20/07/2020)
Sassuolo 3-3 Juventus (15/07/2020)
Roma
Torino 2-3 Roma (29/07/2020)
Roma 2-1 Fiorentina (26/07/2020)
S.P.A.L. 1-6 Roma (22/07/2020)
Roma 2-2 Inter (19/07/2020)
Roma 2-1 Verona (15/07/2020)
With both sides perhaps having little to play for other than personal pride in this final day meeting, it could have the potential to be a drawn out and drab affair.
In truth, both sides will have eyes on their European ties next week and we could be set to see a number of personnel changes that may somewhat lessen this high profile fixture.
There will at least be a chance to see the hosts debut their lovely new home kit.
Prediction: Juventus 2-2 Roma
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