Still unbeaten in Serie A, after sealing their second win from four matches, Juventus tackle Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday afternoon.
While the Bianconeri were again indebted to the set-piece prowess of their star striker in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Spezia, his former club fell to their first defeat of the 2022-23 campaign, against Udinese.
Match preview
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Despite having relatively few touches of the ball this season, Dusan Vlahovic has only needed two mighty swipes of his left boot to set Juventus on their way in both of their last two matches, with his latest free-kick special giving them an early lead in Serie A's midweek round.
The Serbian striker had thundered home a brilliant effort to give Juve the lead after just one minute and 16 seconds against Roma in last week's 1-1 draw at the Allianz Stadium, and he repeated the trick on Wednesday evening: putting the hosts ahead after nine minutes at the same venue.
It was not a convincing performance subsequently, as Max Allegri persists with his conservative style of play, but Juventus went on to win 2-0 and are just two points off the summit of the Serie A standings.
With summer signings Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba not available for either much or all of the opening games, the Bianconeri have also seen injuries afflict some more long-serving stars, but with several tough fixtures ahead, they must use some less familiar members of their squad.
After facing Fiorentina at the weekend, Juve then visit Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, but having fared just as well on the road as at home last term, they will target two positive results to get their action-packed September off to a bright start.
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Once beaten on a regular basis by the club their fans love to hate, Fiorentina have taken two wins from their last four league meetings with Juventus and lost only once.
Following the Viola's stunning 3-0 win at the Allianz Stadium in December 2020, they have since drawn and then won 2-0 in the clubs' two most recent Serie A encounters in Florence - the latter coming in May, as a serving of revenge for their Coppa Italia semi-final defeat a few weeks earlier.
After securing a return to Europe through a seventh-placed finish last term, Vincenzo Italiano's side are, though, starting to stumble this season: last weekend, they posted a third straight goalless draw - including one in the Europa Conference League playoffs, which sealed their spot in the group phase - and were unable to end their drought on Wednesday.
Beaten by Beto's 17th-minute strike in Udine, Fiorentina have not found the net in over 400 minutes of play, and their tally of points remains five from four games.
With a continental campaign to consider, Italiano has not been shy in chopping and changing his first XI during recent weeks, which may have contributed to his side's malaise, and the absence of a certain centre-forward has never been felt so acutely since his departure for Turin in January.
Vlahovic, though, is long gone, and will be sure to receive a hostile welcome upon his return to the Franchi, where Fiorentina generally perform much better than on the road: throughout 2022, they have kept eight clean sheets from 12 league matches at their Tuscan headquarters, and their overall home record was second only to Milan's last term.
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Team News
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After a busy transfer window in Turin, Juventus closed their business by bringing in Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, with outcast Arthur heading out of the door to Liverpool.
One of their earlier captures, Angel Di Maria, made his return against Spezia - from an injury sustained on his goalscoring debut - and he could now start in Florence. However, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny hobbled off with an ankle injury in midweek, so Mattia Perin must deputise once again.
Teenage midfielder Fabio Miretti continued to impress on Wednesday, so could retain his place in the starting lineup, while Max Allegri may also select Federico Gatti again, following his Serie A debut as cover for the injured Leonardo Bonucci.
In addition to their captain, Juve will be without longer-term absentees Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa, with the latter missing out on a return to his former club. Dusan Vlahovic will not, though, and is set to feature up front.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina are expected to reshuffle their pack once again, amid a hectic schedule, and after making nine changes for the loss to Udinese, Vincenzo Italiano could bring back players including Luka Jovic, Nikola Milenkovic and Cristiano Biraghi on Saturday.
The hosts will hope to have both Nicolas Gonzalez back at their disposal after injury, but midfield trio Gaetano Castrovilli, Giacomo Bonaventura and Alfred Duncan are unavailable.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Gollini; Dodo, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Barak, Amrabat, Maleh; Ikone, Jovic, Sottil
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Danilo, Gatti, Bremer, Sandro; Miretti, Paredes, Locatelli; Di Maria, Vlahovic, Kostic
We say: Fiorentina 1-2 Juventus
Though not facing the ideal opponent when seeking to end a goal famine, Fiorentina can do so back on home soil - but they may not be able to take any points from what is set to be a close-fought contest.
The hosts rarely lose at home, but Juventus have established a way of grimly grinding out results.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
