After the latest setback of a sorry season, Juventus aim to keep grip of their top-four place on Sunday, when they visit mid-table Bologna.
Juve may have crashed out of the Coppa Italia to Inter in midweek - following three straight Serie A defeats - but they have not lost to their Rossoblu rivals in 21 league matches ahead of the sides' clash at Stadio Dall'Ara.
Match preview
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Meekly exiting the Coppa Italia to their fiercest foes summed up another underwhelming campaign for Juventus, as on Wednesday night they lost 1-0 to Inter at San Siro and were beaten 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Defeat in the fourth and final Derby d'Italia of the season leaves Juve with only the Europa League as a possible source of silverware - they tackle Sevilla in the semis of that competition next month - and they resume Serie A duty on Sunday far from assured of Champions League qualification.
Though their points deduction was recently overturned on appeal - lifting them from seventh to third in the table overnight - a dramatic late loss to Napoli last week now sees Max Allegri's men only just ahead of the Milan clubs, Atalanta and Roma in the race for a top-four finish.
Both Angel Di Maria and struggling striker Dusan Vlahovic had second-half strikes ruled out against the champions-elect in Turin, and conceding a last-gasp goal to Giacomo Raspadori provided a painful kick in the teeth for fans of the ailing Old Lady.
Suffering a third straight league loss for the first time since 2011, Juventus have now failed to even score in the last two, amid a worrying downturn of form at just the wrong time.
The Bianconeri are the only side not to draw a single Serie A match over the last 12 rounds, with a sequence of seven wins and five defeats summing up their inconsistency, yet they have a strong track record in Bologna and may still fancy their chances of victory this weekend.
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Having lost each of their last six home games against Juventus in Serie A, Bologna will be fighting the weight of precedent on Sunday evening, as they welcome their illustrious visitors to the Dall'Ara.
However, under the guidance of Thiago Motta, the Rossoblu have navigated their way to eighth place in the standings and are well placed for a top-half finish come June.
The ex-Inter midfielder has led his side steadily up the table throughout 2023, and his efforts in Emilia-Romagna have not gone unnoticed at other clubs keen on appointing a new coach in the summer.
After previously holding Scudetto-holders Milan to a draw, last week's 2-1 reverse to relegation-threatened Verona brought an end to Bologna's five-game unbeaten run, which also included encounters with Lazio and Atalanta.
Too far adrift of the latter to realistically make a late run for European qualification, their campaign can still be considered a success if they continue to pick up points during the run-in - though facing Juve, Roma and Napoli among their final seven fixtures may not help in that regard.
Team News
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In the aftermath of another disappointment on Wednesday night, Max Allegri should shuffle his pack at the Dall'Ara, bringing in Arkadiusz Milik up front and Juan Cuadrado on the right flank - the latter was suspended against Inter.
Cup goalkeeper Mattia Perin makes way for first-choice Wojciech Szczesny, while club captain Leonardo Bonucci is unlikely to start following his surprise return to the Juventus defence at San Siro.
Narrowing Allegri's attacking options, Dusan Vlahovic's role may be limited by an ankle sprain and Moise Kean is still sidelined by a muscular problem; therefore, Federico Chiesa - who has scored six goals in eight league appearances against Bologna - or young Matias Soule will support lone frontman Milik. Angel Di Maria misses out through injury.
Bologna, meanwhile, must manage without Marko Arnautovic again, and both Nicola Sansone and Roberto Soriano could be out of action for the next fortnight.
As Joshua Zirkzee only returned to full training during the latter part of the week, Musa Barrow will most likely deputise up front for the home side, despite never scoring and laying on just one assist in eight previous Serie A matches against Juventus.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Soumaoro, Lucumi, Kyriakopoulos; Schouten; Orsolini, Dominguez, Moro, Ferguson; Barrow
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Iling; Soule; Milik
We say: Bologna 1-1 Juventus
Boasting the sixth-best home record in Serie A this season, Bologna are more than capable of taking at least a point on Sunday, against a deflated and uninspired Juventus side. After all, Juve have won just one of their last seven matches and are particularly vulnerable to Thiago Motta's proactive approach.
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Jonathan O'Shea
