Salernitana vs Juventus

Stadio Arechi sets the stage for a high-stakes Serie A encounter between rock-bottom Salernitana and Scudetto hopefuls Juventus.

Only days after suffering a humiliating 6-1 defeat at Juventus despite taking an early lead in midweek Coppa Italia action, Salernitana will be out to claim revenge and extend a two-game unbeaten league run (W1, D1). Filippo Inzaghi’s side finished 2023 with a 1-0 win at Hellas Verona in a relegation six-pointer after holding top-four hopefuls AC Milan to a 2-2 draw in their last home outing. Nailed to the bottom of the standings, three points adrift of safety, Salernitana won’t pull themselves out of the relegation zone without winning here. However, with only Empoli picking up fewer than Salernitana’s seven points at home this season (W1, D4, L4), ‘I Granata’ would probably settle for a draw.

In the meantime, Juventus head into proceedings in high spirits, having gone unbeaten in their last 14 matches across all competitions (W11, D3), including a 1-0 home triumph against Roma in their final Serie A outing of 2023. That success sent Massimiliano Allegri into the history books, as he’s now won more Serie A contests by a 1-0 scoreline (76) than any other manager. With table-topping Inter Milan winning their opening game of the new calendar year, ‘I Bianconeri’ can’t afford a slip-up if they’re to whittle down a five-point deficit. Juventus’ defensive resilience should lay the foundation for another success, with their phenomenal record of 20 clean sheets in 2023 being the third-most in Europe’s top-five leagues. Yet, Massimiliano Allegri’s men have conceded in their last three Serie A fixtures on the road.