Juventus vs Salernitana
A place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals is up for grabs as Juventus and Salernitana go head-to-head at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus’ pursuit of their first Coppa Italia trophy since 2020/21 gets underway at the Allianz Stadium, where they’ve racked up a mouth-watering seven wins in their last eight competitive games (D1). Scoring first would be a potentially game-defining moment for ‘I Bianconeri,’ knowing five of their seven wins during that sequence came ‘to nil.’ That’s also been the case in both Juve’s home Serie A wins against Salernitana in the 21st century. But it’s worth noting their last encounter in Turin ended 2-2, a scenario unlikely to repeat this midweek considering Massimiliano Allegri’s have yet to concede more than once per home match in 2023/24. Clean sheet remains a significant factor, given Juventus have netted precisely once in four of their last five home fixtures.
On the other hand, Salernitana capped off a disastrous 2023 with a morale-boosting 1-0 win at fellow Serie A relegation rivals Hellas Verona, ending a dreadful four-game winless run (D1, L3). However, the visitors remain in a precarious position in the Italian top flight, as they come into 2024 stuck at the foot of the table. If it’s any consolation, the abovementioned triumph at Marc’Antonio Bentegodi marked Salernitana’s first clean sheet in eight matches. Filippo Inzaghi’s side leaked goals at an alarming rate during that stretch, conceding at least twice on five occasions. Interestingly, the last time they registered a shutout was in the previous Coppa Italia round, as they humbled second-tier Sampdoria 4-0 on home turf to set up this tie.